


By Blood and Iron

by Mafy_mod



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Gore, Heavy Angst, I had to add that ship because we can't pretend it's not there anymore, KagaKuro bromance, Kingdom of Seirin, Multi, demon king!Akashi, elf king!Kise, elf!Kasamatsu, ghost!Mayuzumi, human(?)!Kuroko, incubus!Mibuchi, king!Kagami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2019-10-30 03:24:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 63,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17820899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mafy_mod/pseuds/Mafy_mod
Summary: Milleniums ago, Teikou was created - a new world born out of the loneliness and isolation of a single being. Peace and happiness weren't to be its destiny, however, as slowly things fell apart and those who he loved betrayed him one after another. And so... the Empire fell and 'The Unspoken' was no more.Five centuries have gone by since those dark and bloody days.Akashi Seijuurou, the Demon King of Rakuzan, is currently on a quest of unknown reasons to reach the recently founded human kingdom, Seirin, in order to have a "surprise" meeting with its appointed king. He didn't count, however, to have his travel extended when he sees a mysterious human running away from trouble.Will this unexpected encounter be as fateful as it seems... or will it be the catalyst for a new era dominated by blood and iron?





	1. The Wheel of Fortune

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's back? Back again~ Hiya, everyone! Mafy's here!
> 
> It was a long, long, LONG break, but I guess I ultimately ended up returning, in a way. Ah... Well, for those who still remember me, I'm back. For those who never heard of me, nice to meetcha! :D  
> I really want to finish all the projects that I've previously started and had to put a stop on for... several reasons -.-' So I guess I'm back so I can redeem myself from the previous failure on it. But one thing at a time, I guess!
> 
> Enjoy the return of By Blood and Iron, for the time being~

The afternoon birds sang all around them, the green of the forest brushing against the large bodies of their mounts, two black stallions with a size that could be compared to a ferocious and deadly mountain. The saddles cladding the torso of the beasts were refined versions of soft dark brown leather, beautifully drawn asymmetric inscriptions on the knee roll, and the bridle on the animals’ heads were a luxurious mixture of tempered steel and leather straps, refined to make the beast look even more threatening than its humongous size already did.

 

“Ahh~ Such a beautiful day to travel~,” said Mibuchi Reo with a sing-song voice, most of their body hidden underneath a large and thick black cape. They released the reins of their stallion and entwined their fingers together, absentmindedly daydreaming about their surroundings. “This is a scenery straight out of a fairy tale~ All that I could wish for right now is that a knight in shining armour appears out of nowhere and sweeps me off of my feet with a passionate declaration that I am their fated princess! Don’t you think so too, Sei-chan?”

 

“If that is what you wish for, Reo, I am more than willing to comply with your request by creating a suitable illusion to your fantasies,” answered Akashi Seijuurou, his body also half hidden by a large cape, this one not pitch black but of showy blood crimson fabric, its edges adorned by rich gold threads. “However, I am left to wonder if such would fully satisfy your needs.”

 

“Geez~ You really are a cruel man, aren’t you~?” complained Mibuchi, puckering their lips as they jerked their head to the opposite direction from where their master rode on, sulking at the words that had been professed. “You could have simply remained silent or gave a quick nod or ‘yes’ of acknowledgement, instead of crushing my delusions.”

 

“It is not in my nature to carefully thread around matters,” casually said Akashi, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders. “More so when we do not have the time for such. Keep in mind that we are not taking some days off to relish in useless things such as holidays or rest, Reo. We are crossing this forest with a mission in mind, one that I all but want to complete the soonest possible without any unnecessary trouble or unexpected surprises.”

 

“Yes~ Yes~,” acknowledged Mibuchi, taking a new hold of the reins of their stallion.

 

“Have you received any news from Eikichi or Kotarou?” inquired Akashi, looking sideways to his travel companion and letting the red and golden glint of his heterochromatic eyes leak out of the confinements of the majestic cape.

 

“Hm...” softly hummed Mibuchi, inserting one of their hands inside of their cape and taking from there a large hand mirror, its surface showing their features, an androgynous face framed by glossy black locks of hair, for a fraction of second before it started glowing brightly. “It seems that Kota-chan has successfully arrived at Shuutoku and is right now in the initial stages of discussion with Midorima-chan. Lucky him~ He’ll get to see and talk with my beloved Kazu-tan<3 Nebu-chan has already left Touou and is now travelling to Yosen. It seems that there were no problems with his conversations with Aomine-chan and Satchan~”

 

“Good,” acknowledged Akashi, a small mischievous smirk starting to tug the corner of his lips upwards. “Reo, draw the future!”

 

“Certainly, my king~” cheerfully acknowledged Mibuchi with a happy nod of their head. They returned the hand mirror to the insides of their cape and pushed their hand forward in the air, which rippled in circular waves as a set of 78 pitch black cards appeared out of nowhere. A bright yellow light exited their hidden-by-the-cape eyes and the cards started shuffling in mid-air at an astonishing speed, one that the human eye wouldn’t be able to keep up with. Well, it was a good thing that none of the two was of the lowly human race then. “ _Open!_ ”

 

Seventy-seven of the cards disappeared with a puff of black and thick smoke, leaving only one floating in the air. With a quick flick of Mibuchi’s fingers, the card turned around and revealed its front side: a round, old wooden wheel displayed in the centre, with a winged being flying above it, a blood-stained sword in its right hand and a golden crown on the left one; below, on either side of the wheel, were drawn two opposite beings, on the left side a man with a sickly demeanour, his hands handcuffed as blood ran down a gaping wound on his stomach, on the right side a man with a gold crown on his head, piles of golden coins and other riches at his feet.

 

The Wheel of Fortune.

 

“My oh my~” exclaimed Mibuchi, covering their surprised mouth with their hands. They flicked their fingers once again and the remaining card disappeared in the midst of another cloud of black and thick smoke. “Maybe you are the one who will meet your knight in shining armour, Sei-chan~ Or sweep a princess off of her feet~”

 

“Cut to the chase without stalling, Reo,” admonished Akashi, sideways glaring at his travel companion.

 

“Such a moody king that I have...” sighed Mibuchi, rolling their silver eyes around just the slightest. “The Wheel of Fortune represents a change of pace in your life. However, just like the image it has, it is unknown if it will be a positive change or a negative one. It’s up to fortune, or fate, to decide which one it will be. What is certain is that something will surely change and no one can stop it.”

 

“Heh... Really, now?” acknowledged Akashi with an amused voice, his smirk stretching further on his lips. “I can only welcome such draw of the future as a message from the Gods regarding this quest of mine. However... You say that my fate is yet to be decided? No... No, my dear servant of darkness. I am the one who decides my own fate! I and only I! And I know very well what I want my fate to revolve as. No knight or princess, no demon, human, harpy, elf, nekomata or titan. Just one on the top and all of the rest on their knees before the supreme one.”

 

“Aren’t you just mimicking the way the world was ruled while The Unspoken still existed?” pointed out Mibuchi in the form of a mumble. A shudder immediately crawled up their spine once they finished saying that sentence.

 

“Ahh... Maybe... Yes, maybe that is so,” acknowledged Akashi, his feet lightly bumping against the large torso of his stallion and commanding the beast to halt, while the other one climbed up in the air and slowly pulled down his velvet cape. “However, I, Akashi Seijuurou, the Demon King of Rakuzan, pursue nothing more than my own goals and desires. And what I seek and lust for more than anything else is to stand in that exact same place that _he_ previously did. I want to have the world that _he_ previously held in _his_ hands with such care and love in my own and completely ruin _his_ work! I want to destroy this world that _he_ so carefully created from scratch and purge it into the pits of my own! Then, at that time, maybe we shall meet one another once again...”

 

“Even though _he_ has long been dead, together with all the other Unspoken...?” carefully inquired Mibuchi, also commanding their stallion to come to a halt in the middle of the luxuriously green forest.

 

“Dead? You are mistaken, so very mistaken, my servant of darkness,” chuckled Akashi, his long fiery locks of red hair fluttering in the wind crawling between the thick trunks of the trees surrounding them, two pointy horns breaking the skin of his forehead and eerily glowing due to the half-hidden sun with an igneous blood red colouring. His mismatched eyes, one red and the other golden, much like the royal clothes that clad his body underneath his cape, shone and illuminated the invisible path before him which he pursued with a bottomless thirst for vengeance and power. “ _He_ is not dead. _His_ death is an unachievable and fruitless pursuit in _his_ world. However, if I were to drag everything which belongs to _him_ down and make _his_ legacy my own... Hehehehe... I wonder if, at that moment, I will finally be able to gouge out _his_ insides with my own hands and bring a glorious ending to _his_ miserable existence.”

 

“The way you love is truly suiting of a demon, Sei-chan...” softly breathed Mibuchi, their eyes unmoving from the gorgeous, yet terrifying, semblance of their master. _It would have been more honest from your side, Sei-chan, to just admit that you want to set him free once and for all from the regrets that keep him stuck to the world that he created and once loved..._

 

“I don’t love _him_ , Reo. What kind of demon would I be if I were to love someone, and one of The Unspoken, out of all of the beings of this world?” confessed Akashi, the glowing of his eyes growing more and more in intensity as he looked up and stared up to the sky visible between layers and layers of green leaves. “I despise _him_. _He_ robbed me of everything so now I shall rob _him_ of the only thing that _he_ still possesses, even though _he_ has long ceased to dwell in this world. I will take _his_ world from _him_ and make it my own, dye it with my colours and defile it until it’s nothing more than a hellish mess of darkness and blood. I’m sure that _he_ will be forced to appear once again if such catastrophic events were to happen in _his_ absence. And, at that exact moment, I shall finally put an end to that sorrowful and pitiful existence. Never again will The Unspoken dwell in **my** world.”

 

Akashi closed his eyes for brief moments and took a deep breath, relishing in his own destructive earning.

 

“One thing at a time, though,” said Akashi after long minutes of silence, straightening his body on the stallion and covering his features with his velvet cape once again. “First and foremost, we shall go visit the newly founded human kingdom, Seirin, and enjoy a little chat with its king. Depending on how the conversation goes, I will deem if it holds any merit for its existence or if I should finally wipe the lowly human race from my lands.”

 

“Be careful, Sei-chan, even rats know how to bite hard if threatened with the prospect of extinction~” teasingly announced Mibuchi, whipping the reins of their stallion so the beast could resume with its movements through the forest.

 

“Which is exactly why I didn’t begin this travel by myself and have brought you along, Reo,” acknowledged Akashi with a sharp nod of his head. “An incubus is always convenient to have around when dealing with such weak-willed creatures.”

 

“My~ You just made my day, complimenting me in such ways, my king~” cheerfully said Mibuchi, wiggling their body around in happiness.”Why don’t you become my knight in shining armour tonight instead of any other m—“

 

_“Hyahahahahahahahaha!”_

 

All of a sudden, an acute shriek resounded through the peaceful forest, immediately catching the attention of the two talking demons. Focusing his mismatched eyes on the location of origin of the glass shattering laugh, Akashi found a dozen of small imps jumping from tree to tree, rustic daggers in their gnarled hands as they moved in a group, seemingly pursuing the prey chosen to be enjoyed as their dinner. When he shifted his gaze sideways, he found a white horse furiously running away from the imps, its large torso covered in cuts, gashes and blood, most likely caused by the fiends pursuing the shadow riding the large animal.

 

“...!” Akashi stilled his movements all of a sudden, intently focusing his gaze solemnly on the shadow riding the running white horse, covered from head to toe with a ripped and used cape much like they were. The scent of blood fluttered in the air, not only of the panicky animal but also of the human riding it. “Reo, continue ahead of me. I will catch up with you in a couple of hours.”

 

“Eh? Ah! W-Wait! Sei-chan!!” yelled Mibuchi when the redhead strongly bumped the heels of his feet against his stallion's torso and the large beast started to furiously run towards the direction where its rider had been glancing at.

 

Pulling his cape down so that it wouldn’t be pulled back with the wind strongly blowing around him at the speed the stallion had taken, Akashi leaned his upper body forward to enable a more aerodynamic stance and increase their speed further, ignoring completely the small tree branches that crashed against them throughout their transit to reach the white horse’s rider.

 

“...!” Distracted by the attention he was unconsciously focusing on the unknown rider only, Akashi almost had a make-shift dagger stabbed on the top of his head when one of the pursuing imps jumped out from one of the trees, its throat releasing yet another shrinking laugh. However, with a quick glance of his heterochromatic eyes, the imp’s body was turned into stone, exploding into a million small fragments before it even reached the ground.

 

Holding onto the reins of the black stallion with only one of his hands, Akashi silently withdrew his sword from underneath his velvet cape, quickly lunging it forward in the air as if throwing a spear and impaling a couple of imps to the trunk of a large tree. On his way past that location, he swiftly took a new hold of the hilt of his sword and ripped its bloodstained blade from the tree, shaking the corpses of the imps stuck to it away.

 

By the time the redhead managed to catch up with the rider of the white horse, he had wiped out half of the group of imps pursuing the unknown shadow, the other half now playfully surrounding the wounded horse, the animal panicking as it tried to escape the fiends continuously gashing its body and the rider tightly holding into the saddle with bloodied fingers.

 

“Begone!” commanded Akashi, his voice reverberating through that entire area of the forest. Birds lifted off in a frenetic flight out of fear and the group of imps immediately halted their crafty movements, frighteningly peering at the source of the voice. He raised the hand yielding the sword above his head and threw the sharp weapon against the wet ground, its blade perforating the ground as if it was made out of melting butter at the exact same time as the black stallion started galloping towards the wounded white horse. “I said, begone!”

 

 _“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!”_ loudly shrieked the group of imps, quickly fleeting that area so they could keep themselves safe from the terrifying monster vengefully rushing in their direction.

 

“Hmph!” snorted Akashi in acknowledgement, pulling the reins of the stallion to halt its movement right beside the wounded white horse. Though as light as the impact might have been, the moment his horse softly bumped against the white horse, the wounded beast’s legs gave in underneath its weight, sending the human boarding its saddle out of balance and towards a painful fall to the ground.

 

Akashi didn’t even have enough time to calculate which would be the most beneficial action for him before his arms motioned forward and grabbed the rider of the now dead white horse, holding his suspended and limp body against his chest as he tried to prevent the unknown human from slipping out of his hold and onto the bloodstained floor. Not that the unconscious human wasn’t plenty bloodied himself.

 

“...” Releasing a soft sigh, Akashi gently pulled the human to on top of his stallion and lap, adjusting his position so he could pull down their ripped cape and get acquainted with the human who dared to interfere with his previously peaceful travel. “Ah...”

 

Though he was acquainted with the creative ways that humans decorated and changed their own bodies in pursuit of what they designed as ‘style’, never once had Akashi seen a male with light blue locks of hair, ones which were coloured with the same shade as a sunny Summer day.

 

Never once had he seen such tonality in a human... only in The Unspoken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
> [Tumblr](http://mafymod.tumblr.com/)  
> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profiles for the original stories to come out in the near future!]


	2. The Wheel of Fortune II

Carefully, as not to rouse the sleeping human, Akashi slowly took the battered cape from around his body, gently taking off, one by one, every other layer of clothing that clad the small, wounded body of the bluenette.

 

Pale features, covered in small scratches – he ran his fingers over the soft cheeks and the scratches disappeared.

 

Scrawny arms and legs, with bones so temptingly breakable, both decorated with countless gashes and bruises on their also pale and smooth skin – another light caress with the pads of his fingers and, slowly, every cut started to heal.

 

Akashi gently pulled the naked bluenette from the ground and held him against his chest, one of his hands softly pushing the smaller male’s face against his shoulder, fingers entwining in silky light blue strands of hair.

 

_Like he had done so many times before._

 

Circling the smaller male’s waist with his other hand so he wouldn’t slip out of his grasp, the redhead slowly parted his hand from those fine strands and traced the length of his back, his fingers feeling every curve, muscle and ligament of his spine.

 

“Nothing, huh...”

 

-.-

 

“...yes... with you a little later than... in front of the main gates...”

 

Lightly rubbing the back of his head against the soft bump it was laid on, Kuroko Tetsuya slowly, with difficulty, opened his eyes, his vision coming out as blurry and slightly colourless. When he twisted his head a fraction to the left, he saw an unknown red shadow – a man whose body was covered by a velvet cape remained sat down beside him, his back turned in his direction. He dropped his gaze a little bit more and found a large white and red bulge on the ground, a little bit further away from his location – his horse, apparently dead.

 

“Ngh...” groaned Kuroko as he tried to push his body, tired and sore, up from the ground, a shiver crawling up his spine due to the cold night air when the thin blanket covering his body – his completely naked body – started slipping away with his movements. “Eh!? W-What...?”

 

“I would advise you to remain laid down for a while longer,” announced the unknown male, turning his body slightly around and peering over to the panicky bluenette, who desperately tried to cover his exposed and fully defenceless body to the best of his possibilities with the small blanket, all while trying to figure out what was happening at that moment. “I may have healed your wounds but the damage is still being kept inside of your body.”

 

“I-I appreciate your help but please do return my clothes to me...” softly mumbled Kuroko, suspiciously eyeing the unknown male, mostly since he couldn’t see at all what remained underneath the velvet cape.

 

“You may find them over there,” said the unknown male, lifting one of his arms and pointing with his index finger towards the small fireplace illuminating their dark surroundings. “I took the liberty of having them cleaned and fixed.”

 

“...” Kuroko kept his eyes stuck to the unfamiliar male a while longer, still feeling extremely suspicious of him. After long minutes of silence, he adjusted the thin blanket over his naked body and got up, cautiously walking over to the fireplace, where his clothes were being apparently dried through the means of the heat of the fire, his teal eyes never once leaving the unknown male. “Um...”

 

“Hm?” hummed the unknown male, putting his elbow on top of one of his lifted, bent knees and then leaning the side of his hidden features on the back of his hand.

 

“I may not be able to see your eyes but I do know when I’m being observed,” deadpanned Kuroko, his hand clutching more tightly at the blanket being held in front of his denuded body. “And I’m not in the most comfortable of attires for such.”

 

“My apologies,” chuckled the unknown male, straightening his sitting position while motioning his two hands upwards. With a swift and gracious jerk of his wrists, the unknown male pulled down the cape covering his head, revealing his long red hair, the two horns on his forehead and his heterochromatic eyes to the bluenette. “Feeling more comfortable now?”

 

“You are making it hard for me to answer,” softly sighed Kuroko, his demeanour growing even more expressionless at the sighting of the unknown male’s appearance. He turned around on his heels and immediately lowered his body, taking a hold of his clothes and readily starting putting them on once again. “But it is more reassuring when you know what you are dealing with.”

 

“May I know what am _I_ dealing with?” inquired the redhead, a mischievous smirk on his lips as he closely observed the bluenette putting his clothes on.

 

“I was under the impression that I am all but a lowly human, but to have a demon inquiring me on my nature is making me question it myself,” deadpanned Kuroko, albeit rolling his eyes around at the redhead’s question seeing as he couldn’t see him doing it from his position. He sighed soundlessly, quickly putting on the white undershirt which he used underneath his outdoor clothes – in more than one sense.

 

Somehow, there was something about this unknown red-haired demon that made him become slightly more sarcastic and deadpan than he usually was when dealing with such characters.

 

“Is it now?” amusingly acknowledged the redhead, his smirk slowly widening further and further. “Please do tell me all about your doubts. I am a being wise enough to help you acquire some enlightenment.”

 

“I politely decline your offer on demonic wisdom,” readily cut off Kuroko, peering over his shoulder in the redhead’s direction while pulling his pants on and buckling his belt. “My own beliefs would clash against it.”

 

“As it is to be expected, I suppose,” pointed out the redhead, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders. “You are all but a lowly human and I am all but a demon who could have simply ignored you and let you be served as dinner to a swarm of imps and proceed with my previously very well scheduled travel.”

 

“...” Kuroko quickly turned his head away once again and resumed with putting on his last pieces of clothing. He buttoned his shirt and put on the thick brown leather coat that went over it to provide him protection from surprise attacks throughout his travels, and then lowered his body once again, inserting his boots on his feet and skilfully strapping their laces around the length of his lower legs covered by them. As soon as he finished adjusting his clothes properly, he picked up his cape from the ground and flipped it over his head so he could more easily put it over his shoulders.

 

“...!” The redhead’s nails strongly scratched on the moist dirt underneath his body, his throat growing dry and so very thirsty for words as his mismatched eyes widened in both surprise and reminiscing.

 

_What he found inside of the big, empty white saloon was a winged being, his light blue locks of hair so long that they pooled around his also clad in white small body, down to the marble ground – a crystal clean river made of numerous endless strands of hair. The pure white wings sprouting from between his shoulder blades occupied the entirety of the large saloon, of a frightening length that protectively surrounded the newborn world as the hatchling that it was. Its feathers were of a pristine lack of colour, not dyed or dirtied by the impurities of other worlds – it was as if the own creator of the newly formed world had been born at the same times as his own masterpiece._

_It was the most beautiful and awe-inspiring creature that Akashi had ever seen in his long – and extremely boring – life._

 

The cape now protectively surrounding his body, Kuroko slowly turned around and looked over at the redhead, the demon also eyeing him with the exact same carefulness. He walked forward, passing by the demon not with disdain but also not showing any favourable emotion, and kneeled down in front of the deceased horse’s head.

 

“I’m sorry, Shirou...” apologized Kuroko, affably patting the beast’s mane, not minding the blood dirtying his hands. He closed his eyes and raised his blood-stained hand up to his forehead, lightly touching it with the side of his slightly curved index finger. “Please rest in peace and may you be welcomed in the afterlife, where you will surely meet someone who will want you once again as their travelling companion. Allow your soul to seek new solace in the life that will be birthed by your passing.”

 

“...What is thy name?” asked the redhead out of the blue, a small frown on his features as he curiously observed the bluenette.

 

“His name was Shirou,” said Kuroko, small droplets of salty water rolling down his cheeks from the corner of his eyes. “I took care of him for seven years, since he was nothing more than a foal...”

 

“I meant you, human, not your animal companion,” groaned the demon, his eyes tightening into slits as he studied the smaller male even more closely.

 

Was it all but a coincidence? A prank brought about by the evil machinations of fate? A twisted joke sent forward by his own desires and regrets, passion and hatred?

 

The blue shade of the human’s hair and eyes – just like all of _them_. A voice soft and melodic – just like _his_. The speech pattern – an almost perfect imitation of _his_. The tears that fell from those teal eyes – identical to the ones that had clutched the demon’s heart inside out so many times.

 

Only these ones were purely water and salt, never morphing into diamonds as they hit the floor.

 

“...” Kuroko switched his gaze to the redhead, giving a quick sniff as he cleaned his eyes with the back of his bloodied hands. “Kuro— ...My name is Kuro.”

 

“...” The redhead observed how the air around the bluenette rippled – he had not said a lie but had not told the truth either. A mischievous smirk immediately twisted his lips at such. “Very well, Kuro. I shall allow you to address me as Sei. To whereabouts are you travelling to?”

 

“The Kingdom of Seirin...” suspiciously answered Kuroko, keeping a constant intense stare in the demon’s direction. They were crafty and immoral beings – answering to them was most of the time equivalent to the fall of a human into depravity –, however reading people was one of the bluenette’s expertise. Whether human or any other being, he would know if their intentions were to bring about disaster or fortune to him and those around him.

 

He couldn’t see white or black on the demon, momentarily – just a shade of grey, neutral to either side.

 

“Such a coincidence, for I am travelling to that exact same location as well,” acknowledged the redhead, giving a quick upturn to his lips that could be called a smile. “Would you care to become my travelling companion?”

 

“Eh...?” interjected Kuroko, an eyebrow slightly arched in surprise at the demon’s proposal – again, a grey which bore no evil or good in it.

 

“You see, I have been separated from my own travelling companion while rescuing you,” explained the redhead, releasing a soft sigh. “I’m not very tolerant of boredom so I take more enjoyment in travelling while accompanied than by my lonesome. And it seems that you have just lost your ride. I would say that this is quite the favourable panacea for both of us.”

 

“...”

 

“Not to mention, there’s no safer place to travel than under the eyes of a demon, for all other measly creatures are of no importance to our kind and, hence, fearfully flee from our path,” added the redhead, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders. “I believe that, while you will be able to provide a burial place for Shirou, you would have no one around you to do the same for you. Digested flesh in the stomachs of imps or a skeleton forgotten in the depths of the forest – which one scares you the most, Kuro?”

 

“I would have to say the unknown schemes of a demon,” answered Kuroko, his facial expression completely passive and expressionless as he heard the subtle threats of the redhead.

 

“Hehe... You seem like a wise human, Kuro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
> [Tumblr](http://mafymod.tumblr.com/)  
> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profiles for the original stories to come out in the near future!]


	3. The Wheel of Fortune III

“Stop being stubborn right this moment, human, and ride my mount already,” exasperatedly sighed Akashi, sitting on top of his black stallion, hands tightly gripping at the reins as he did his very best to keep his annoyance only to himself.

 

“I will not,” refused ‘Kuro’ (or so the human had called himself) almost instantly, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared to the taller male with a challenging glint in his eyes. “Please do continue using your mount by yourself, I shall walk by myself too.”

 

“Having us both riding my mount will get us in Seirin tomorrow morning, at the latest,” pointed out Akashi, closely observing the almost sulking expression of the bluenette. “On the other hand, having you walk the whole way will delay our arrival to the human kingdom even further. A delay of three days, at the minimum, depending on your physical stamina. It is now your own choice to make but I am starting to bend more towards the direction where I simply abandon you here to your own luck.”

 

“...”

 

Akashi could almost see the engines in the bluenette’s brain starting to furiously turn round and round. Whether it was due to hurry to arrive at Seirin or lack of good stamina and physical prowess, ‘Kuro’ was clearly closely thinking about what to do in regards to this displeasing situation. He knew for a fact, however, that the bluenette would end up conceding.

 

“Please let me ride with you...” sighed ‘Kuro’, averting looking to the redhead in the eyes. It really felt bitter, to admit defeat so easily, but he didn’t have any time to spare at the moment – even more now than before, with all the unexpected changes to everyone’s plans.

 

“Here,” acknowledged Akashi, outstretching one of his hands towards the bluenette to provide him with some assistance to climb onto the stallion’s torso, the saddle removed to allow more space and a more comfortable ride to the to-be two occupants.

 

“...” However, ‘Kuro’ did nothing – he simply remained frozen in place, absentmindedly staring to the redhead’s face, his lips slightly parted.

 

_A hand was outstretched in his direction, nails sharp and pitch black on fair and long fingers. The intense light of the sun shined brightly on them, causing the eyes of the taller male to resembled twin red spinel and yellow topaz._

 

“Kuro?”

 

“Eh...?” interjected ‘Kuro’, his body jumping slightly in a startle. He blinked his teal eyes a couple of times, still staring continuously to the demon, as incomprehension started showing all over his face. “Ah... My apologies. It seems that I spaced out without noticing...”

 

The bluenette slowly motioned his hand forward and grabbed the redhead’s, who readily pulled his arms to help him climb the mountain-sized beast. He threw a quick glance to the location where his own horse had been buried as he adjusted his sitting position on the torso of the large black animal, but not a single word or tear exited his mouth and eyes due to it.

 

“Ugh... This is exactly why I did not want to do this...” softly groaned ‘Kuro’, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks as he analyzed his sat down position on the stallion’s back. The demon’s chest, who was sitting right behind him, was well pressed against his back, his arms caging him on both sides so that he could hold onto the reins that would guide them through the path back to the human kingdom.

 

“I highly doubt that my mount would even pretend to listen to the orders and directions of a being as inferior as you humans so this is certainly the only option we have at our disposal,” pointed out Akashi, soundlessly chuckling at the smaller male’s shyness. “But fear not, Kuro. Lions don’t notice the presence of flies, even if right in front of their eyes, do they?”

 

“Much like a demon would not pleasantly listen to the reading of the Scriptures, I take,” grudgingly pointed out ‘Kuro’ back, glaring at the redhead by peering over his shoulder.

 

“Well then, shall we start?” leisurely said Akashi, pretending to not have heard the bluenette’s threat, much like he said a lion would to a small and easily crushable insect.

 

The travel from then onwards was spent in total silence, the hours of the day slowly passing by as they continuously switched between a fast pace, when the forest was clear enough to allow the black stallion enough room to run as fast as the wind, and a more leisure one, in the extensive areas where the thickness of the vegetation was almost impenetrable.

 

It was while crossing one of those fully vegetated bits of the humongous forest that Akashi noticed the slight wobbling of the body of the human sat down in front of him. It was a weird motion to display, seeing as the stallion was walking so slowly at that moment that a child would easily be able to pick up its pace.

 

When the horse started to climb a small slope in the forest, Akashi obtained his answer. The bluenette’s back came immediate crashing against the demon’s chest, forcing the redhead to release one of his hands from the reins and grab onto the smaller male’s waist, ‘Kuro’ almost having slipped out of the beast’s torso if he had not.

 

“You must be kidding me...” mumbled Akashi, an eyebrow slightly arched as he observed the bluenette’s features – eyes softly closed and lips parted just a small gap to allow a slow breathing rhythm to be released out of his sleeping body. “This is exactly what happens when humans act all high and mighty and overstep their own limitations. The blame lies on you, for not sleeping the whole night since the moment you regained consciousness.”

 

Releasing a soft sigh, Akashi adjusted his one-handed hold to the stallion’s reins and let his free hand remain around the human’s waist, securing him in place as he leaned his sleeping form against his chest and the upper arm of the hand controlling the beast’s walking direction.

 

“Such pitiful beings...” chuckled Akashi, a mischievous smirk starting to tug at the corner of his lips. “Seeing as you befell under the mistake of dropping your guard in such dangerous ways while in the presence of a demon – a demon king, out of all possibilities – should I pull a small prank on you?”

 

No answer was obtained, like it was expected.

 

Akashi leaned his head down just a fraction and stuck his tongue out, giving a slow lick to the back of the bluenette’s ear, articulating a single word right into it afterwards. However, though his lips moved, no sound accompanied those movements and motions, his vocal cords pronouncing one of the words which had been banned from that world and all the others directly associated with it at its creation.

 

A single word – a single set of letters.

 

The Unspoken’s name.

 

The creator of that world, the now nameless god which was forcibly exiled to forgetfulness for all eternity when the five main lineages, previously dragged into that new realm without any say in the matter, rebelled against the god’s race and massacred all of them down to the very last one.

 

The Unspoken – the beautiful winged being whose wings Akashi forcibly ripped out of his smooth shoulder blades and whose existence he sent to oblivion by burning down the foundations of his existence.

 

The Unspoken – the beautiful and oh so very pure winged being who he couldn’t stop himself from loving so deeply. From loving... and from despising.

 

 _I miss you... I want to see you again...,_ inwardly confessed Akashi, tightening his grip on the bluenette’s waist. _I want to touch you one more time... and finally put an end to your sorrowful existence._

 

“Nn...” softly groaned ‘Kuro’ in his sleep, moving his head against the redhead’s body and leaning his cheek on his chest. Cristal clean tears were once again streaming down from his closed eyes. “...orry...”

 

_I’m sorry, Akashi-kun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profiles for the original stories to come out in the near future!]


	4. The Wheel of Fortune IV

“Nnn…” Softly groaning for brief seconds, Kuroko rubbed his cheek against the warm surface it was being leaned on. Albeit the scent exuding from it was completely different from the soap used to wash his bed sheets, it was still a fragrance that, one way or another, carried a homey feeling to it. Reminiscent. Nostalgic. With a hint of something that was and could never be again.

 

When Kuroko opened his eyes just the slightest, he was greeted by almost total darkness. The moon shone brightly in the sky, the only open source of light to his surroundings. He could feel the soft wind coursing through his blue locks and rustling against the fabric of his clothes and his ears could hear the melodic chirping of the crickets. A gentle wobbling underneath his body was trying to lullaby him back to sleep.

 

“It is still too early in the night to say ‘good morning’, though it is comforting that my travel will no longer be an obnoxious amount of time spent in boredom and silence now that I can say such words.”

 

“…!” At hearing that now familiar voice, Kuroko automatically jolted fully awake, as if thrown with a bucket of freezing water straight on the face. When he turned his head slightly to the left, he found his nose half an inch away from Sei’s smirking features. No, all of him was not even half an inch away from the demon as he laid cradled against his chest, his waist being snuggled by one of his red-coloured cape-clad arms to keep him from falling off of the horse in his sleep. Such safety measure ended up being more harmful than helpful, however. “W-What are you…!?”

 

As quickly as he took in the position that he had been unknowingly shifted into, Kuroko slammed his hands against the red-haired male’s chest, forcibly parting their bodies. His unsteady sitting position, the quick and rough movements of the pushing motion and the wobbling pace of the horse all came crashing together, causing Kuroko to fall back towards the ground.

 

The demon’s expression immediately changed from amused to slight panicky as he saw the human bluenette falling from his high position. He released the reins and lunged his hands sideways, grabbing into the thin forearms of the smaller male as his body slipped further down the back of the mountain-size black stallion.

 

A muffled thud momentarily silenced all the crickets hidden in between the leaves of the shrubs and trees.

 

“Humans truly are creatures that enjoy crawling in the dirt,” softly hissed Sei, his heterochromatic eyes glaring at the bluenette from above. He quickly removed his hand from below the bluenette’s head and picked himself up from the ground, angrily (but quite gracefully) shaking his cape and clothes to remove the dirt clinging at them due to the impact.

 

“…” Kuroko remained laid down on the ground, body once again throbbing in pain but head completely unharmed. His eyes vacantly stared to the small patches of starry sky that were visible in between the bushy treetops, his lips slightly parted in surprise. His brain was a mess of thoughts and images he couldn’t recognise within his life, but the pounding hitting the insides of his ribcage made the confusing mess come second. “T-Thank you…”

 

“You should redirect those words of gratefulness to the prayers towards your god, for they sound completely hollow in my ears,” warned Sei, a bitter expression still present on his features as he peered down to the bluenette. “Towards me, you should only apologise and grovel.”

 

“As a human, I do not know how demon society accommodates this sort of circumstances. However human society dictates words of gratefulness, whether the other wishes to hear them or not,” deadpanned Kuroko, shifting his head just a little bit against the ground to look over in the redhead’s direction. “Go search for grovelling beings in some other country, for you will not find such in mine.”

 

“Yes, I do not require you grovelling at the moment as it is quite enjoyable to see you flattening yourself on the ground,” pointed out Sei, a smirk slowly tugging at the corner of his lips.

 

“Enjoyable enough for you to wish to join and experience it yourself?” countered Kuroko, slowly pushing his upper body up and taking a sitting position.

 

“Be mindful of your words, human, as you are standing before a demon king,” warned Sei, his smirk being once again wiped from his features. “You have given me more incentives to leave you to your demise in this forest rather than be merciful and provide you with a quicker and safer journey to the Kingdom of Seirin. Do not make me regret my decision.”

 

“…” Kuroko got up from the ground and, after having quickly adjusted his cape and briefly shaken off the dirt, offered a low bow towards the redhead demon. “My apologies. I was not aware of your high standing as a king. It is not very common to receive the news of demonic royalty travelling to human realms. I hope you can forgive my rudeness and lack of knowledge as a measly, faulty human.”

 

“Pfft…” snorted ‘Sei’, his shoulders shaking for brief moments. He slowly walked towards the bowing bluenette and motioned one of his hands forward, grabbing him by his cheeks and forcing him to lift his head. “Your words are coated in nothing but sarcasm and animosity. Do you not fear that what you say can become the doom of your insignificant kind? Do you consider a momentary dissing worth the full annihilation of a race?”

 

“If your race, together with the other four, is strong enough to take down my God, I believe that humankind would be strong-willed enough to prevent their doom and survive in place of that which was sacrificed to allow its continuity,” answered Kuroko, staring straight at the heterochromatic eyes of the demon. “It will not be the words of one which will bring about the end of all.”

 

“If that is to be applied to a human… maybe so,” acknowledged Sei, softening his grip to the bluenette’s cheeks. He then lowered his limb a little bit and motioned it forward a second time, this time taking a strong hold to his slender neck. “As the vermin that your race is, one would not be able to eliminate all. You are a plague that has long infested this world, it would be ludicrous to believe that you can be that easily exterminated. But plucking out the rotten apples from the tree before they are collected could bring about salvation. Shall we give it a try towards the fearless fool who can only speak out of turn standing in front of me?”

 

“I can rephrase my words with lies starting now, if such pleases Your Highness the most,” said Kuroko, his expression remaining as expressionless as throughout the earlier conversation. “However, I was under the impression that a lion does not bother itself with the type of noise that a fly makes while circling around it. Have my words and the truth behind them rose above that status?”

 

“There is a slightly endearing side to all of your barking, yes,” acknowledged Sei, bringing his face closer to the bluenette’s. “But if the barking keeps on frequently occurring, you might consider cutting out all of your sleeping hours. I believe I do not need to remind you that I am a demon and of what demons are capable of, Kuro.”

 

“Two were the number of times that you could use to harm me while I was sleeping, fully defenceless to any sort of attack,” said Kuroko, grabbing into the redhead’s wrist and pulling his hand away from his neck. It was a quick easy feat as the cold hand didn’t even fight back to keep its grip there – though the large gash in its back may have been a partial factor for such. “However, you healed me in the first time and you got yourself hurt while shielding me after the second one. Your Highness, you are trying too hard to look like the bad guy when you can’t even put your heart into being one.”

 

“…” Sei quickly pulled his hand away from the bluenette’s grasp, his limb disappearing underneath the cape as he dropped his arm to the side of his body. “It is far too dark to continue travelling through the forest. You should use the rest of the night to sleep, Kuro. Unless you are one to wish to arrive at a human settlement while sleeping in the arms of a demon.”

 

Kuroko silently observed as the redhead turned around on his heels and grabbed into the black stallion’s reins, leading the gigantic mount deeper into the forest so as to find somewhere for the beast to equally rest.

 

“…?” Slowly, Kuroko took his hand to his neck and softly traced its length with the pads of his fingers.

 

Why… did that cold grip feel so familiar? Devastatingly so…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profiles for the original stories to come out in the near future!]


	5. The Wheel of Fortune V

Akashi had not lied when he said he enjoyed travelling more while accompanied than alone due to the boredom that was instilled in his being when he was by himself. Although demons wouldn’t die from boredom as it happened with witches, it was still a damaging emotion to their personas. For as tolerant as he may be, boredom was something he did not welcome in his long life – never once did he. However, although he wasn’t travelling alone and wasn’t experiencing the so-called poison, it was still slowly becoming an unbearable situation.

 

As soon as the sun had rose enough to illuminate the deep forest, Akashi and ‘Kuro’ resumed with the final stretch to arrive at the newly formed human realm, the Kingdom of Seirin – just like they had done in the previous day, the human took a seat in front of the demon king as he directed the black stallion through the barely visible path. The difference was that there was now a certain inexplicable awkwardness between the two of them.

 

He had come to understand that ‘Kuro’ wasn’t a very talkative human, even if he knew better than to delve into deep conversations with a manipulative demon. But the short instances where Akashi got into lengthy conversations with the bluenette, it was as if he was travelling into a past which he didn’t wish to recall.

 

It annoyed Akashi how similar ‘Kuro’ was with The Unspoken. Their appearances were similar. Their fearlessness was similar. Their biting words were similar. The way they gazed forward, their clear blue eyes unmoving from the path they were walking towards, was similar.

 

It was as if ‘Kuro’ was a human copy of that which he loved and hated the most in the new world, suddenly dropped in his life out of spite and without any regards to how it made his insides twist around.

 

 _Again… I am being stripped naked once again…,_ inwardly cursed Akashi, his heterochromatic eyes stuck to the bluenette’s back, who was sitting mere inches in front of him. All he had to do was bring his arms a little bit closer to one another and his forearms would be neatly nestled against the human’s slender waist. _If I were to do so, I could so very easily squeeze him against my chest until his inwards were spewed from his foolish mouth, instead of those hatefully fearless words._

 

“So very tempting…” softly snorted Akashi in a small voice – so small that it came out as unnoticed by the bluenette. He sighed. “We only have a few more minutes of travel ahead of ourselves. I believe that you will not find it inconvenient whichever gate I use to step inside of your territory?”

 

“…”

 

“Kuro?” called Akashi, as he had obtained nothing but silence from the bluenette. He leaned his upper body forward and lightly rested his chest against the smaller male’s back, taking a peek at his face as he peered over Kuro’s shoulder.

 

“Eh?” interjected ‘Kuro’, quickly turning his head around in the direction where he had heard part of his name being called. When he found the demon’s face once again extremely close to his own, he didn’t even have enough time to think about it before he lunged his hand forward and slapped it straight in his face. “Your Highness, have you never heard about personal space?”

 

“Should a human’s personal space be one of my personal concerns?” asked back Akashi, his voice slightly muffled by the pale palm covering most of his face. In a small bout of mischief, he parted his lips once again. This time, however, it wasn’t words that came out but a moist pointy tongue that slowly licked a small length of the bluenette’s hand.

 

“Wha—!?” Feeling the wet, ticklish sensation coursing through his skin, ‘Kuro’ readily withdrew his hand, protectively holding it against his chest as his pale features exploded into a myriad of red.

 

“Thank you for the meal,” mischievously added Akashi, slowly licking his smirking lips. He amusingly observed as the reddish shade occupying the bluenette’s features escalated into darker and more noteworthy shades, spreading into his ears and back of his neck. _Oh?_

 

“I— I am not food!” yelped ‘Kuro’, readily turning his head in the opposite direction where the redhead’s face was.

 

“Would a ‘toy’ be more appealing than ‘food’ within human standards?” whispered Akashi in the bluenette’s reddish ear. He used the change in direction of his mount as an excuse to cage the bluenette’s body more closely in between his arms and his chest, already well pressed against Kuro’s back.

 

“Equality is the most appealing, not being degraded to a lesser standing out of fun and games or manipulative ploys,” almost hissed ‘Kuro’, leaning his body forward to try to create more space between him and the redhead.

 

“You humans are always dreaming big, which is why you so easily fall under the spell of our sweet nothings,” pointed out Akashi, also leaning his body even further to accompany the bluenette’s position. With a small touch of his heels in the stallion’s torso, the beast slowed down its walking rhythm, offering Akashi the chance to simply use one of his hands to hold onto the reins. With his now free hand, Akashi gently circled the bluenette’s waist so as to prevent him from escaping even further – he could amusingly feel his messy and hasty heartbeat reverberating inside of his chest. “For as long as we know where to press, humans come undone at our hands as if a castle made of fallen leaves. If I were to give you the prospect of ‘equality’, you would be swept along with my manipulative ploys as if you yearned for them from the start. Doesn’t that sound like a very appealing and satisfying deal?”

 

“…” Kuro once again remained silent at the redhead’s words. Akashi, however, readily noticed that the once maddening beat of his heart was steadily returning to that of the usual expressionless bluenette. “Do you truly believe that there’s even a drop of appeal and satisfaction over giving something of yours in exchange to obtain another, Your Highness? You will not gain anything from it; you will only lose a part of yourself to acquire a piece that wasn’t yours in the first place. I cannot ween any being acquiring happiness with such gulled techniques.”

 

“…” Akashi strongly ground his teeth at the sound of those admonishing words. The hand that so gently touched the bluenette’s chest morphed into a vicious grip to the front of his cape, the fabric being crumpled in between his fingers and sharp nails. It hurt to breathe. His insides were on fire and he could feel his heart being twisted and squeezed around as if a dirty rag being squished off of polluted water. It hurt, it hurt so much and the only ones he could blame for the excruciating pain was himself and the being that made a demon like him experience hell above the ground. “Why… are you so—“

 

“Sei-chan~!!”

 

All of a sudden, a loud yelp of happiness erupted in their surroundings, forcing Akashi to cut his words short and to hastily withdraw his hand from Kuro’s clothes. As he instructed his mount to come to a full stop, Akashi found Mibuchi cheerfully waltzing in their direction, waving their hand in the air as if they didn’t saw each other since decades ago.

 

“…” Akashi inwardly clicked his tongue and started descending the black stallion, quickly arranging his cape over his features as soon as his feet touched the ground. ‘Kuro’ may be aware of his true nature, however it was still far too early to allow the rest of the human population of the Kingdom of Seirin to know about it too. “Reo, it pleases me to see that you have also safely accomplished your travel.”

 

“That should be my line, Sei-chan!” yelped Mibuchi, half-heartedly frowning at the redhead as they jumped at him and tightly hugged his arm. “It really surprised me when you suddenly stormed off to the middle of the forest, completely ignoring our or any other route. Ah… Did you perhaps follow the reading of the cards and went to sweep a princess off of her feet~?”

 

“Can you perhaps see any resemblances with a princess in him that I canno—“ started Akashi, turning his body slightly around so he could peer to his mount and to the human bluenette sat down on its torso. However, all he could find was his black stallion. No human, no ‘princess’.

 

“Is something the matter, Sei-chan?” asked Reo, tilting their head just the slightest as they exchanged quick glances between the redhead and his mount.

 

“Reo, what did you see when I arrived at the front area of the gates?” inquired Akashi, tightening his gaze into thin slits as he closely observed the black stallion and, then, their surroundings.

 

They stood in the middle of a large dirt road, both sides decorated with short wood fences that lead them to a humongous wooden gate. Thick and tall stone walls rose from the ground on each side of the gate, offering an almost impregnable defence to the human kingdom. The wooden gates were almost as thick as the walls, reinforced in several spots so as to be able to withstand any shock or impact that it may be thrown in its way.

 

Currently, the gates were left hanging open, as small droplets of humans went in and out of the walled territory. Two guards neatly stood on each side of the gate, barely moving as they closely observed those that crossed that area – though every time a new person would pass by them, they would happily greet them and welcome them in or bid their farewells at their exit. The guards seemed to be extremely familiarised with every citizen that crossed those gates, probably as a safety measure against invasion or assassination attempts to the royal family.

 

“Eh? But of course I saw you, My King~” said Mibuchi, a smile once again stretching their lips. “Instead of stepping inside of the human kingdom, I simply remained outside of the gates waiting for you. Of course, I made sure to put an invisibility spell on so that I and my own mount wouldn’t arouse suspicion in the minds of the humans. It was rough on me, you know? Having so many delicious preys constantly waltzing around and not being able to take a bite or two~”

 

“Heh… Ahahahahahahaha!” started laughing Akashi out of the blue, lightly running his fingers through his red locks so as to pull his fringe backwards.

 

“S-Sei-chan… are you okay?” worriedly inquired Mibuchi, their grey eyes open in surprise at the sudden and fully unexpected outburst of the demon king.

 

“Shall we pick up our pace and clear the task that has brought us to such a faraway land?” announced Akashi after lightly shaking his head and taken a deep breath to calm down his laughter. “It seems that the prospect of close proximity with humans is not very advisable for my health. I’ve begun seeing what was and is no longer.”

 

_For how many centuries will the shadow that you left behind continue to torment my existence, ———?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akashi's pain = Mafy's pain while writing this chapter *sniff*
> 
> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
> [Tumblr](http://mafymod.tumblr.com/)  
> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profiles for the original stories to come out in the near future!]


	6. The Wheel of Fortune VI

The clicks and clanks of metal being sharpened echoed inside of the room, the insides mushy and hot due to the fires intensely burning to keep the forging tools perpetually operational. No sword was being created there, yes, but Kagami Taiga wasn’t known for being the gentlest of warriors when a blade was left in his hands.

 

“Oh, lookin’ nice there, aren’t we?” acknowledged Kagami with a sharp nod of his head and a satisfied grin on his lips as he raised his sword and turned it around in several different angles to take in the sharpness of the dual blades. “I bet it can chop a tree in half as if a block of lard now!”

 

Fully satisfied with his work, Kagami dipped the sword inside of the washing basin one more time and grabbed his polishing set, fully equipped to give any sword a shine that could deceive anyone into thinking it was brand new or never used in battle. Well, not that any citizen of the Kingdom of Seirin hadn’t heard of Kagami Taiga’s tales by now. As he gently and carefully ran a cloth up and down the blade, a rhythmic echoing steadily grew closer and closer to the redhead’s location, ending with the cataclysmic sound of the door being slammed open.

 

“Kagami, you idiot, the entire palace is looking for you!!” admonished Hyuuga Junpei, a deep frown on his features and a vein extremely salient on his forehead – all brought forward due to the rage coursing through his bloodstream at the speed of light. “You have things to do, stop wasting time taking care of your sword!!!!”

 

“What is it this time…?” sighed Kagami, a small pout showing on his slightly creased brows. “Riko-san was supposed to take care of the paperwork today. Other than that, I don’t remember having to do anything else.”

 

“So it was supposed to be but a big ass problem just came knocking on our doors,” grumbled Hyuuga, quickly adjusting his glasses in their right place after all the running he had been doing through the entire palace. “We have visitors and they demand the presence of the ruler of the Kingdom of Seirin for an official audience. I’ve already notified both Riko and Kiyoshi and they are getting every detail about it ready. So all that’s left now is to get _you_ ready for it.”

 

“Who’s the fucking asshole that just popped out of nowhere at Seirin and is ‘demanding’ an audience with the king?” groaned Kagami, almost throwing the cloth back to the polishing kit and returning the sword back to its scabbard.

 

“The kind of asshole that you cannot call asshole while in front of,” sighed Hyuuga, rolling his eyes around at the ever-present crass language of the one and only king of Seirin. “Akashi Seijuurou, the Demon King of Rakuzan, has decided to grace us with his presence.”

 

-.-

 

Akashi and Mibuchi leisurely crossed the large corridor of Seirin’s main palace, personally guided by one of the main attendants of the royal family. They were no longer wearing their travelling capes and now exhibited their usual sets of clothes.

 

Akashi was clad in a set of breeches, made of a velvety red fabric adorned by gold threat, and a white shirt. A long, red and golden, doublet came above the shirt, with a length that nearly reached his knees. His sword was resting in its scabbard, hanging close to his hips. With intricate leather boots as footwear, the lances were strapped around his lower legs and ending in a delicate knot to keep them in place. His long red hair was smoothly tied, gently waving around at each step he took forward.

 

Mibuchi’s attire, however, was even more elaborate than the demon king’s. Albeit wearing black breeches resembling that of the redhead’s, a corset was doing little to cover their voluptuous breasts, as the black lace covered the most important bits and allowed their silky skin to be exposed to the eyes of males and females alike. A tail also made of black lace and adorned with sparkling diamonds had been sewed to the back of the corset, majestically floating in the air as the hermaphrodite beauty cat-walked through the corridor with a pair of heels that made their already tall frame even taller. A thin, pointy tail also satisfactorily waved around above their hips, warning everyone of Mibuchi’s incubus nature.

 

“The King of Seirin is awaiting your presence in the throne room,” announced Kiyoshi Teppei as he stopped in front of a large, white coloured, double door. With a kind smile on his face, he bowed down to the two demons and turned the knobs of the doors, leaving the guards inside to do the rest of the job at opening them.

 

The throne room was exactly what was to be expected of one. An enormous room decorated with massive columns to support the weight of the roof, which was adorned by large chandeliers made of crystal and coloured glass. Windows from ceiling to floor covered one of the walls, allowing a total view of the royal gardens and, thanks to its higher location, the main streets of the town centre. A large red tapestry covered the floor in the middle of the room, from the double doors to the stairs, then up to the single throne present above the three-step stairs. The throne was a mixture of fine cypress wood, lightly smocked to acquire a darker tone, and gold leaf drawings. The ends of the arms rests took on the shape of a tiger head with its mouth wide open, their fangs glistering in the light of the chandeliers due to the gold leaf coating them.

 

“My King, the ruler of the Kingdom of Seirin, Kagami Taiga,” announced Kiyoshi, once again bowing before the two demons as he gestured towards the tall redhead sat down on the throne.

 

“Can I— Um… May I know which reason brings Akashi Seijuurou, the Demon King of Rakuzan, to my kingdom?” asked Kagami, quickly changing his speech to a more formal one when he felt a shudder going down his spine. Riko had certainly glared at him the moment he opened his mouth. “Especially without any preceding letter or warning.”

 

“My apologies if my sudden visit has offended you in any way, Kagami Taiga, ruler of the Kingdom of Seirin,” started Akashi, not his words or demeanour hinting the slightest of apologia from his behalf. “However, we, demons, are quite fond of taking action the moment we set our minds into something. Time was not in accordance with my plans, it seems, so any preceding letters or warnings were entirely put on the side. Do not take it as an offence, though. All the other kingdoms and empires were subjected to the same unexpected visit.”

 

“No offence was taken so proceed,” acknowledged Kagami, giving a quick and sharp nod of his head. “As this is a last moment official audience, I had to find a little bit of time in my packed schedule to attend to you. I would appreciate it if you could go directly to the reason for your visit.”

 

“That is certainly what I intended to do from the start,” said Akashi, a smirk slowly starting to stretch his lips. “Rakuzan is ab—“

 

“Shit, Kuroko! Don’t just fucking pop up right by my side out of nowhere!!!!” roared Kagami out of the blue, interrupting the beginning of the explanation from the demon’s side. His body nearly all squashed against one of the armrests of the throne, the redhead glared to the opposite direction – where a bluenette now stood, an expressionless demeanour on his features. “How many times have I told you that!?”

 

“My apologies, My King,” said Kuroko, offering a small, but long, bow towards the redhead sitting on his left. “Riko-san kindly left a note on my chambers to inform me of this last minute audience so I just let myself in as soon as I arrived.”

 

“Tsk! I’ll talk with you later about this and some other things,” grumbled Kagami under his breath as he straightened his sitting position in the throne. “It is now my turn to offer some apologies due to this interruption. Please do proceed.”

 

“…S-Sei-chan… that’s…” softly whispered Mibuchi, their grey eyes open wide in shock as they stared to the bluenette standing by the human king. “No way… They… They should be all dead… _He_ was supposed to be dead…!”

 

“Rakuzan is about to begin its expansion to become an empire,” started Akashi once again, his heterochromatic eyes now stuck to the already known bluenette. His meeting with ‘Kuro’ had not been a delusion or a mirage brought forward due to yearning – ‘Kuro’ was painfully real and painfully well planted in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Seirin. A status important enough to get him the right to stand on the right side of the most powerful person of the kingdom. “The aim is to unite all kingdoms and territories under one only. No exceptions will be made. As such, we are paying customary visits to the heads of every nation to let them know of such and to offer them some options.”

 

“And which options would they be?” inquired Kagami, a deep frown creasing his features. He really, really didn’t like where this was going. Not to mention, he was getting some weird vibes from the demon king. It was as if he was speaking to him, but none of his words or attention were focused on his being. It was infuriating, to say the least.

 

“Or your kingdom concedes defeat right this moment and becomes one of the subjects of the soon to be Empire of Rakuzan or you can face us in the battlefield and seize to exist,” readily explained Akashi, his smirk widening further as he could sense the bluenette’s gaze burning straight into his red and golden irises. “I will not take a ‘no’ as an answer to this matter. You become a part of my territory, one of my possessions, or you shall join your maker in the afterlife.”

 

“Heh, join our maker, you say?” snorted Kagami, his hands tightly closing around the lion heads in the armrests of the throne. His serious expression readily morphed into a deadly glare, his red eyes as intense and sharp as the blade of his sword. “You, your kind and all the other fuckers out there are the last beings that I want to hear talking about our God! It disgusts me that you even have the nerve to mention hi— Argh!”

 

“My King,” warned Kuroko, giving a quick jab to the sides of Kagami’s torso so as to quiet down his exalted self. He inwardly sighed. _A king in the outside, but still a grumpy child that loses his temper at the drop of a pin in the inside…_

 

“…” Still lightly grumbling under his breath and massaging the place where he had been jabbed, Kagami loudly cleared his throat and sat straight on the throne once again. “As far as it comes to my side, I believe I’ve already given you an idea of what sort of answer you’ll obtain.”

 

“Yes, you have certainly done such,” half-heartedly acknowledged Akashi. He was starting to feel bored towards this conversation and now wanted nothing more than have the audience end so he could get some other matters attended to. Mainly with a certain character inserted within the ruler of Seirin’s inner circle.

 

“However, this kingdom operates under its own way so I would be thankful if I could provide you with the choice I have picked on a later date,” continued Kagami, throwing a quick sideways glance to the council members on his left – both Riko, Hyuuga and Kiyoshi offered a small nod in acknowledgment. “I am sure it would displease you to wait for an answer for a lengthy amount of time and you must be feeling quite exhausted from your travel too. As such, I would like to offer you one of our rooms so you can spend the night and tomorrow we’ll delve into this matter a second time, as soon as I’ve concluded a meeting with my council.”

 

“Nothing but a foolish puppet king, then,” said Akashi, his eyes momentarily scanning Kagami with a certain disdain before they were returned to the bluenette, who still casually stood beside the taller male with his ever-the-same expressionless. “Very well, I shall accept your offer. However, I would like to be served as any other political visit to your country, with all the customary events that it involves. I wait anxiously for what sort of reception I will receive from the first human country that I’ve set foot in.”

 

“…fuckin’ aggravating bastard, just annoying the heck of me…” cursed Kagami under his breath as he once again felt a vein popping out at the distasteful way the demon king was behaving towards him. When he followed the direction where Akashi’s red and golden eyes were peering at, he found that he hadn’t even been looking straight at him! And the anxiety brought forward by the possibility that the bluenette standing on his right had caught the demon’s curiosity only made him more volatile to explode in sudden outbursts of anger. “If that’s what you wish for, we shall comply with such a request, as a show of good will and an apology for any misbehaving on our behalf. We shall arrange one of our servants to cater after your needs and provide you with a reception worthy of your status.”

 

“I want him,” shortly announced Akashi, pointing one of his fingers in the bluenette’s direction. In his face remained a knowing smirk, albeit his heterochromatic eyes were still a mixture of amusement and perplexity.

 

“Kuroko is not a servant, we will assign you one as soon as this audience ends,” almost hissed Kagami, his eyes once again boring holes through the heterochromatic redhead with their raging intensity.

 

“I believe that offering me, someone who has a status even higher than you, the ruler of this kingdom, a simple servant would be far too offensive,” pointed out Akashi with a small shrug of his shoulders. “You have said it yourself, Kagami Taiga. You will provide me with a reception worthy of my status. Unless you wish to cater to my needs yourself, I find it much more pleasing and restful to have your… well, I do wonder what exactly he is yet again.”

 

“Like he—“

 

“Certainly, Your Highness,” interrupted Kuroko, taking a step forward and lifting his left arm sideways, so as to prevent Kagami from darting out of the throne and jump at the heterochromatic redhead with his fangs and claws ready for some bloody action. “I shall make all the arrangements for your short stay. I would like to request a few hours so I can have your and your companion’s private chambers prepared.”

 

“I shall allow such,” acknowledged Akashi with a small nod of his head.

 

“If you’ll excuse us, then,” said Kuroko, offering a long bow to the demon king at the same time as he lightly touched Kagami’s arm.

 

“We shall see each other once again later in the day,” shortly said Kagami with a grudging tone, only sideways glancing at the demon king and his incubus companion as he stood from the throne and started walking towards the side entrance that connected the throne room with the inner palace.

 

“Were you aware since the commencement?” asked Akashi out of the blue, his eyes still following the route that the bluenette was taking behind the human king.

 

“…Yes,” acknowledged Kuroko, turning his head so as to look at the demon king as he continued to follow after Kagami. “For the most part, from the very beginning… Sei.”

 

“Hehehehehehe…” darkly laughed Akashi, his smirk once again being fully stretched in his lips. “I truly contemn all of _his_ creations…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	7. The Wheel of Fortune VII

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Kuroko!?” roared Kagami, angrily slamming his closed fist against his desk in one of the inner office rooms of the palace. “First you disappear without any warning for nearly a full week, and now that you decided to show signs that you’re still fucking alive and breathing, you just happily agree to attend to the fucking Demon King of Rakuzan!? Have you gone fuckin’ insane!?!?”

 

“I’ve told you again and again how much I dislike being stuck inside of the palace, Kagami-kun, but it seems that my words haven’t been loud enough to reach your ears,” calmly said Kuroko, simply staring at the taller male with his usual expressionless demeanour. “After _months_ cooped up in here, I took the liberty of relishing on a walk outside. It goes without saying that I didn’t let anyone know of it because it would definitely reach your ears and you would create one more of your ridiculously stupid plans to keep me from leaving.”

 

“What did you just say!?” roared Kagami once again, giving one more strong blow to the desk’s surface.

 

“Now, now, boys, calm down, okay?” tried Aida Riko, inwardly cursing at the redhead’s explosive nature. That and the always extreme protectiveness that he solemnly aimed at the bluenette. “No matter how much you yell at Kuroko-kun, what’s done is done. You’re both equally guilty, each one in different ways. Kagami, stop caging Kuroko-kun inside of the palace! Kuroko-kun, stop sneaking out of the palace and worrying the heck out of us!! Now, where's the apologies!?”

 

“…I’m sorry…” mumbled both Kagami and Kuroko in unison, their gazes slightly downcast as they tried their best to withstand the brunette’s fulminating glare.

 

“Good,” acknowledged Riko with a sharp nod of her head. She then sighed and leaned her lower back against the armrest of a sofa, her arms crossed over her chest. “Now, what exactly should we make out of this huge problem?”

 

“First point, I don’t want to leave Kuroko in charge of the two of them,” readily said Kagami, his brows slightly creased in the midst of his serious demeanour. “Lastly, like hell I will say yes, bow down and become a fucking slave to the demons!”

 

“We need to get the rest of the council members present in the palace so let’s do as you suggested and arrange an emergency war council for tomorrow morning,” started Hyuuga, softly massaging his temples. “I’ve already talked with Izuki and he’s summoning everyone, as well as giving them a quick explanation of what the situation is.”

 

“I had Mitobe send some owls and pigeons to the neighbouring human countries which are involved with us through business exchange to let them know about this situation and to obtain more information, in case they also received an unexpected visit by demons,” added Kiyoshi, forcing himself to throw a quick soft smile to try to alleviate the tense atmosphere.

 

“Perfect, good job, you two,” acknowledged Riko, nodding her head several times in satisfaction. “Now moving to more close-by events… I have to agree with Kagami, Kuroko-kun. You’re the last person that should be attending to the Demon King and his companion. We should try to reason and persuade him to have one of our most experienced servants cater to his needs and then having Kiyoshi or Hyuuga deal with the most political aspects of their reception.”

 

“We all know that you’re the last person to be bewitched by the words of a demon but still…” added Hyuuga, uncomfortably scratching the back of his head. “You get what we’re trying to say, right? Your circumstances make all contact with Akashi a threat. A threat to you, to the kingdom and to every citizen living within these walls. It’s a risk we cannot afford to take.”

 

“I understand why you’re all so adamant to have me attend to him, and I would definitely agree with all that you’re saying if we were under a different set of circumstances,” acknowledged Kuroko, gracing the four of them with a small smile. “But I really do think that this time around, we don’t have a choice but to comply with that request of his.”

 

“Um… Do the two of you… perhaps… know each other?” hesitantly asked Riko, quickly exchanging fearful glances with the other three males. “The way you spoke with each other at the ending of the audience left me with the impression that wasn’t the first time you’ve seen each other.”

 

“He gave me a ride while I was returning to Seirin,” deadpanned Kuroko, innocently peering to the group as if what he had just said wasn’t as shocking and terrifying as it truly was.

 

“Wait, what!?” yelped Kagami, his mouth gaping wide open in shock. “Okay, time to make the short story long. And no abridged version, you need to tell us everything.”

 

“While I was on my way back to Seirin, I was suddenly attacked by a group of imps and it was Your Highness that appeared and rescued me from them, unfortunately not before Shirou succumbed to the wounds inflicted on him,” started Kuroko, sitting down in one of the cushioned chair so as to make his storytelling more comfortable. “He healed my wounds and then volunteered himself to provide me with some protection and transport, seeing as we both shared the same destination. So I spent close to two days travelling with him. It seemed that he had been separated from his travelling companion at that time, though, so this was the first time I met the incubus.”

 

“That’s… weird, to say the least,” said Hyuuga, a question mark floating around his head. “Demons are the last beings that you can expect to come to someone’s rescue, more so when it comes to humans. Why did he go out of his way to help you out? Did he ask for anything in exchange or try to bewitch you or something along those lines?”

 

“No, he just said that he would get bored travelling alone so he was seeking a new travelling companion out of me, at least until we arrived at Seirin,” explained Kuroko, lowering his gaze just a fraction. “He never asked for anything other than that. Which is why I now feel that I’m in his debt, seeing as he not only healed my wounds, but he also offered me his help in several instances without being asked to.”

 

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same person… well, demon?” asked Kagami, one of his eyebrows lightly arched as he closely observed and listened to the bluenette. “Because from the audience we had with him, he only came out as a fucking asshole in search of world domination, a new excuse to turn humans into slaves and a method to return the now peaceful lands into a slaughterhouse again. Not some kind of merciful being that helps complete strangers simply because he’s passing by.”

 

“I always believed that contradictions and gaps in behaviour and personality weren’t traits solemnly present in humans,” pointed out Kuroko, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders.

 

“So it’s just that?” asked Riko, gulping down hard as she was trying to sooth down her worries – worries that were definitely shared by the other three males. “No other… connection?”

 

“…? Should there be one?” inquired Kuroko, tilting his head slightly to the left as he curiously peered over to the brunette.

 

“N-No, of course not!” hastily said Riko, waving her hand around in a dismissive way. “I just wanted to check that nothing wrong had happened between the two of you. I mean, it’s definitely the first time that I’ve heard of a demon offering help to a human without asking for some sort of price for it. So, yeah, just checking, just checking!”

 

“…” Kuroko kept silently staring at Riko for a couple more of minutes, which were ended when he started getting up from the cushioned chair. “If you’ll excuse me, then. I need to start making the preparations and arrangements of the chambers for our unexpected guests.”

 

“Kuroko, do you want me to ask Tsuchida-san or Koganei-san to give you a hand? Or any other person?” impatiently asked Kagami, who had to force his body to remain still and not follow after the bluenette as he walked towards the office’s door. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be any trouble to either of them.”

 

“For better or worse, I know this palace as if the back of my hand,” said Kuroko, turning the knob of the door and slowly opening a gap. He looked over his shoulder and gently smiled at the redhead. “You do not need to worry, Kagami-kun. I’ll be okay. All of us and the entire kingdom will be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profiles for the original stories to come out in the near future!]


	8. The Wheel of Fortune VIII

“This is weird… Unbelievable… No way it’s real…” continuously mumbled Mibuchi, pacing back and forth in the small terrace where they and Akashi had been presented with some tea and biscuits while waiting for their temporary private chambers to be ready. “How can… Sei-chan, how can one of them still be alive!?”

 

“Reo, do calm down,” sighed Akashi after relishing on a small sip of his tea. Not bad, for something prepared by humans. “As far as I am aware, Kuro… Kuroko is a human, not one of The Unspoken. However, I still have my doubts in that regard, as it is to be expected. We, Rakuzan, completely obliterated all of The Unspoken together with the other four kingdoms. And all of us undoubtedly made sure that no mistake was made and none of them survived the purge.”

 

“Then… could he perhaps be the offspring of one of The Unspoken? Maybe with a human?” inquired Mibuchi, finally stopping waltzing around and sitting down in the seat in front of their lord.

 

“I highly doubt it,” said Akashi, softly returning the cup to the saucer. “Our purge happened nearly five centuries ago. It’s unthinkable for a human to live that long. The same can be said about physical characteristics. If Kuroko truly is a descendant of The Unspoken, then he would have long lost the light blue colouring in his hair and attained a more human-like one.”

 

“What exactly is he?” sighed Mibuchi, leaning their elbows on the table’s surface and then resting their face on top of his open left hand.

 

“Right now, I cannot phantom any plausible theory, but I believe that is a mystery that we shall try to solve throughout our stay,” announced Akashi, the corners of his lips curling up into a knowing smirk. “Shintarou would have said that luck is on our side, as we could arrange Kuroko to become our attendant for the foreseeable future.”

 

“Sei-chan, you’re devilishly good at this~” giggled Mibuchi, half hiding a smirk behind their hand. “What will you have me do, My King?”

 

“Gather all information you can on Kuroko,” commanded Akashi, his face turning slightly more serious out of the blue. “You are one of the best intelligence agents in Rakuzan, I have full confidence in you bringing me good results in this investigation.”

 

“Aww~ You praise me too much, Sei-chan<3,” nearly squealed Mibuchi, their cheeks slightly flushed as they happily smiled at the heterochromatic redhead.

 

“Meanwhile, I believe that it is customary for guests to receive a small introduction to the kingdom they are visiting by walking through its streets,” added Akashi, sideways peeking to the town landscape they could easily observe from that terrace. “I am quite sure that Kuroko would gladly repay me for my previous offerings with a walk on his territory. It will also be the perfect pretext to get to know more of this newly founded human kingdom.”

 

“Two birds with one stone, I see~” acknowledged Mibuchi with a short nod of their head. They then got up from their seat and skirted around the round table, later kneeling in front of the heterochromatic redhead. “Sei-chan… Are you okay?”

 

“Why would I not be?” inquired Akashi, his eyes still peering into the distance as he took a new hold of the teacup and gently moved it around. “There are no setbacks in my plans up until this point, the conversations with the other countries and kingdoms are all going according to my expectations and we have successfully stepped inside of the newly founded kingdom of Seirin. Or are you trying to imply that there is some sort of matter that I am overlooking and should concern myself with?”

 

“No, not at all, My King,” acknowledged Mibuchi, bowing their head at the heterochromatic redhead. “I’ll be taking my leave now, so as to bring you good results by morning time.”

 

As soon as Mibuchi finished those words, their body began to sink in the stone flooring of the terrace, which rippled around in circles. Soon enough, only the floor remained behind – together with Akashi, still leisurely drinking his tea as he took in the scenery.

 

“All of my servants are far too skilled…” mumbled Akashi, a shadow of a gentle smile faintly present on his features.

 

_“You should all be more like Akashi-kun. Instead of disregarding those around you for being weak, you should place your trust in them. That will surely make them grow in the near future.”_

_“Ehh… That sounds like such a pain in the ass, ——…”_

_“And a total waste of time. My position does not involve grooming those below me, but improve myself according to the tales of fate and luck.”_

_“But doesn’t Akashi-kun look like he’s having fun? They’ve all become like a big family made of all kinds of demons. And if we can do that in between ourselves, who are so different, I’m sure you can all have your own families within your kind, who have so much in common. Because that’s how—“_

_“That’s how you see things now!? I thought we were a family! Why… Why would you do something like this, Akashi-kun!?”_

_Crack._ Unconsciously, Akashi changed his hold to the teacup and crushed it with his grip, the hot beverage now drenching his hand and pooling down on top of the round table.

 

_The freedom that I forced on you came with the price that I would lose mine, as your shadow will forever remain with me, haunting all of my sleeping and awake hours. Now all that is left for me to do is to set you free from this cursed world once and for all._

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“…!” At hearing the sound of that voice, Akashi felt an electric current coursing through his body, from head to toes, forcing him to jolt awake from his reminiscing. His hand reflexively grabbed more strongly into the shards of the teacup, its sharp edges starting to cut into his skin.

 

“Your Highness, you will hurt yourself if you do such,” said Kuroko, grabbing one of the fabric napkins on top of the table and dropping it over the spilt tea, at the same time as he lightly touched the heterochromatic redhead’s closed fist with the pads of his fingers. “Please step aside so I can remove all of the shards before blood is spilt.”

 

“My apologies,” softly whispered Akashi, his voice partly still sealed inside of his throat. He slowly opened his hand and let the few broken pieces fall on top of the table with a muffled clank, as the fabric napkin softened the impact. “I’ll repay you with a new set of teacups.”

 

“You do not need to bother with such trivialities, as there’s those in this palace that daily cause far more damage than a broken teacup,” deadpanned Kuroko as he cautiously gathered the shards on top of the napkin. Kuroko was one of such individuals, though not in the same extreme fashion that Seirin’s one and only king did.

 

“The palace should contemplate hiring new servants,” suggested Akashi, closely observing every single movement that the bluenette did.

 

“Everyone has their flaws, I would dare not to proscribe them for such,” pointed out Kuroko, neatly closing the broken teacup inside of the fabric napkin and pushing it to a further corner of the table.

 

“You sound quite complaisant for a human, especially went put beside your king,” noted Akashi, a small smirk popping out of his features. “I was counting the seconds it would take him to attempt to skewer me or my servant with his sword.”

 

“I apologise for my king’s foolish hot-headedness,” apologised Kuroko, offering a small bow to the heterochromatic redhead. “I have already taken measures and vehemently chastised him for his poor behaviour throughout the audience. He will certainly not repeat such a second time.”

 

“Have you also reported to him our small-scale globetrotting… ‘Kuro’?” smartly inquired Akashi, gesturing towards one of the chairs so as to prompt the bluenette to take a seat.

 

“For his chagrin, yes, I did,” acknowledged Kuroko, bowing once again before he softly pushed the chair towards him and then took a seat on it. “Although I partially repaid my debt to you by cutting off the small instances where you were attempting to bewitch me with your words. I believe the score should be fully settled by the time you return to your own country the day after today.”

 

“Not only complaisant but also noble,” praised Akashi, softly nodding his head in acknowledgement. “Those are not traits that I dislike to see in other beings. Your king made the correct decision to allow you to become my attendant. However, it was with the Demon King of Rakuzan that you travelled with. You must have quite the glorious reception under wraps to believe that such a short amount of time could fully repay your debt to me.”

 

“You requested to be treated as if any other political guest during the audience, hence that is the compensation you shall obtain from me, whose function surely does not demand catering after visits or guests,” deadpanned Kuroko, staring straight into the demon’s mismatched eyes.

 

“What is thy function in this country, in this palace, if I may know?” asked Akashi, this time gesturing towards the teapot to offer some of the still hot beverage to the bluenette – he kindly refused, however.

 

“That is undoubtedly a good question,” said Kuroko, his eyes momentarily shifting into the faraway distance. “But if I would have to provide you with an answer just as good, then it would be nothing. I am nothing but an old acquaintance of those that inhabit this palace and constitute Seirin’s royal family and council. My king is kind-hearted enough to provide me with a warm bed and satisfying food without demanding any official function out of me.”

 

“What about unofficial functions?” inquired Akashi once again, his small smirk stretching further as it gained some mischievous undertones.

 

“The Kingdom of Seirin does not associate itself with the practices of corruption and it goes without saying that I do not take on the unofficial function of a secret lover to any of them,” casually said Kuroko, albeit his blue gaze was serious and sharp. “Your Highness, it would be in your benefit that you stop looking at this kingdom as if a mere conglomeration of humans. We have our laws and our practices, ones that every single citizen is deeply in agreement with. You cannot build a kingdom as quickly as we did otherwise. Hence, my King is all but a voice that unites all of those that wish to speak and make a better place for themselves in this unforgiving world.”

 

“Do show it to me, then,” said Akashi in a quite challenging tone. He leaned his upper body forward at the same time as he placed his forearms on top of the table, slightly closing the distance between himself and the bluenette. “Show me if this kingdom that you speak of so fondly is worthy to become a part of my possessions or if I should destroy it together with all of those that oppose me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> [Tumblr](http://mafymod.tumblr.com/)  
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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profile of M0 is up and M1 is coming out in a couple of hours!]


	9. The Wheel of Fortune IX

“It may unbecoming of me to ask such of a demon, but it is customary to provide our special guests with a tour through the most important areas within our kingdom,” casually started Kuroko while setting aside the teapot and cups. “However, I am sure that you would not enjoy mingling with those of the lowly human species so if you’d prefer such, I will arrange another diversion for you within the palace’s grounds.”

 

“Kuro and Kuroko truly are one and the same,” amusingly pointed Akashi, trying to suppress a chuckle as he yet again experienced the bluenette’s sarcasm and snarky remarks. “It saddens me to say, however, that I’m a demon who keeps his words. If a tour within the kingdom is what your customs dictate, I shall comply with them. Even if I could very well go without mingling with your lowly species, yes.”

 

“…Then, Your Highness, please become one of the lowly species too,” deadpanned Kuroko, staring straight into the demon’s heterochromatic eyes.

 

“Excuse me?” almost barked Akashi, a deep frown creasing his fine features. He took a few slow steps forward, gracefully walking around the round table and stopping right in front of Kuroko. “Mind repeating those words once again, so that they may become what is craved in your tombstone?”

 

“Allow me to put it in different words, then, Your Highness,” said Kuroko, not even slightly moved by the threatening presence half an inch away from him. “If a human was to mingle in the midst of the demons from your kingdom… what would be their reaction to such invasion? The human surely would be slaughtered within the span of a second. Do please take into consideration that this is a human kingdom and all of us are painfully aware of what kind of bloody history there is between our kind and your kind.”

 

“I cannot fathom any human having the ability to even make a scratch on my clothes,” snorted Akashi, nearly rolling his eyes around at the bluenette’s explanation.

 

“Let’s make an effort so that it stays as such,” announced Kuroko, giving a quick upturn to the corner of his lips. He gave a quick sideways step and walked towards the balcony’s double doors. “I shall wait for you outside of your chambers. Do take your time making any preparation that you deem necessary.”

 

“…” Akashi silently observed as Kuroko stepped inside of the room that was to be temporarily used as his private chambers and walk out of it through the door, which was closed once again without any sound attached to it. Now that he thought about it, he also hadn’t heard any sound or perceived any sort of movement around him when Kuroko mysteriously appeared beside him, ready to cater after the broken teacup. “…incongruous little being…”

 

After taking a sideways glance to the outside scenery of the balcony, Akashi turned around on his heels and returned to the insides of his private chamber, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

 

With a quick flip of his fingers, his appearance went through a complete makeover. His long, tied red hair shortened to neck-length. His pointy ears and nails took on shorter and rounder shapes. His red and golden orbs partially lost its mystical shine and the elliptical irises softened. His luxurious clothes were changed to simpler ones, though still retaining a regal style and the colours branded by his lineage – velvety red and shiny gold.

 

Akashi took a quick glimpse of himself in the mirror hanging in one of the chamber’s walls. Seeing that appearance on his skin after so many centuries threw his brain into another puddle of nightmarish reminiscing and his chest was once again a victim of a powerful stab.

 

Seeing his human look made Akashi recall the numerous times he had prayed to become one, only so he could earn to right to forever stand beside _him_. However, _he_ wasn’t his god, of course none of his prayers and beckonings was ever heard, none of his wishes came into fruition.

 

So all that was left for Akashi to do was take measures with his own hands. It always came down to that – even now.

 

“Is this monstrous appearance suitable enough to mingle with your kind?” asked Akashi as soon as he opened his private chamber’s main door and stepped outside to the corridor. Kuroko was silently standing by the door, waiting for Akashi as he had said he would.

 

“Human ladies are quite fond of monstrous appearances,” deadpanned Kuroko, walking beside Akashi as he led them through the long corridor to the entrance of Seirin’s palace.

 

“Is that an encomium or an asperse?” inquired Akashi, an eyebrow slightly arched at the bluenette’s response.

 

“It would depend if it was a human mouth or demon mouth who said it,” confessed Kuroko, slightly bowing his head as he and the redhead passed by a guard in the corridor – the soldier’s body had readily reflexively straightened at their sighting and Kuroko couldn’t help but pity the man. Gossip within the walls of a palace was truly unforgiving in terms of the time span that it took in spreading to every nook and cranny.

 

“Do you have a riposte for everything I say?” inquired Akashi yet again, softly chuckling at those inconclusive words.

 

“I have a riposte for everything everyone says,” deadpanned Kuroko, but Akashi couldn’t help but notice that it was an expressionless put forward more out of amusement on the subject rather than contempt at having to interact with a demon. “I just lack the opportunity to show such.”

 

“Always speaking his mind and unable to measure his words, no matter who the receiving end may be,” said Akashi with an amused tone of his voice. “I presume you and your king are quite susceptible to squabbles between yourselves.”

 

“My King is still immature enough to not recognise sarcasm, even when slapped in his face,” sighed Kuroko, once again bowing his head to the two guards securing the palace’s main building’s entrance. “As for squabbles, I shall not comment on the matter.”

 

“My apologies if our short-term trip together to your kingdom has caused you any inconveniences when it comes to those of royal lineage,” said Akashi, sideways peering at the bluenette and the small frown creasing his brows just the slightest.

 

“You did not instigate it, but I won’t deny that your involvement in it didn’t make it worse,” deadpanned Kuroko. He quickened his pace just the slightest and then stopped in front of Akashi, gesturing with one of his hands towards the landscape in front of them. “Once again, I welcome you to the Kingdom of Seirin, on behalf of My King. Though it may be short term, I hope you enjoy your stay. Please do not hesitate to make any requests or demands, for as long as suitable for a guest staying within our walls.”

 

“I do not have requests or demands at the moment, however, I’m still feeling quite astray as to how this kingdom came into being,” said Akashi, stopping beside the bluenette and staring away into the bustling human city before the palace’s tall gates. “Within our knowledge, there was no city, human or otherwise, in this territory. Some of my informants just coincidentally bumped into it while performing their duties and that is how I came to know of the recently established Kingdom of Seirin.”

 

“Yes, I must admit that Seirin does not have a very extensive history in this world but those who inhabit its territory do not share such a fate,” answered Kuroko, resuming with his walking at the same time as Akashi.

 

“Oh?” interjected Akashi, an amused expression on his features at the way Kuroko had answered. Maybe there truly was more to this kingdom than he had initially thought – be it with the bluenette’s involvement in it or not.

 

“We all come from the most diverse of places, from the most diverse of backgrounds. However, we all share the same thoughts and views,” explained Kuroko, giving a quick nod with his head to allow permission to the guards and have the gate being open. “I have said it before. My King is all but a voice that unites all that reside in this kingdom. My King’s answers and actions will always reflect the wishes of everyone. He is not a puppet king, as you so derogatorily called him, but a king who respects his citizens above his own free choices. And it’s because we all known such that we decided to follow after him and be protected within his always welcoming walls. By doing such, we have strengthened his resolve, given him means to build and found Seirin and achieve a freedom that those in other kingdoms and empires do not relate with. That is the origin and foundation of the Kingdom of Seirin.”

 

“How is that any different from a conglomerate of humans?” scoffed Akashi, looking at the humans walking around the streets with disdain. “They flock around someone stronger than them so they can be protected. If the protectiveness disappears or stops being as efficient as in former times, they migrate to another.”

 

“I never said that it was My King doing the protection,” pointed out Kuroko, sideways glancing backwards as he closely observed the gate being closed once again. He might have acquired permission to exit the palace but it was such a rare occasion that he couldn’t help but have the feeling that a certain someone would start furiously chasing after him out of the blue, demanding him to get back to his room as if an overprotective father chastising a runaway daughter.

 

“Walls are easily destroyed,” snorted Akashi, lifting one of his hands and slowly motioning it towards a nearby house. Before his palm could touch the stony surface, however, the calling of a name put a halt to his movements.

 

“Kuroko-sama, it’s been a while since my eyes have last been graced with thy presence,” greeted an elderly woman, her back hunched forward and a black walking stick held in one of her hands to accommodate her old body some support. “My son has recently returned from his travels, together with a quite interesting shipment of books. I believe some of them might catch thy interest.”

 

“I shall try to arrange a break in my schedule to visit your store,” acknowledged Kuroko, nodding his head at the elderly woman. “It pleases me to know that your son has returned safe and sound to Seirin. Your heart must have been drowned in ease once again.”

 

“It certainly has, Kuroko-sama, it certainly has,” acknowledged the elderly woman with a rough laugh. She casually inserted her hand in the front pocket of her long apron and removed from there a small book, its cover made of light brown leather. “My daughter-in-law is out in the shopping district at the moment, but she has left me in possession of this every time she goes out. Do please enjoy.”

 

“Thank you very much,” said Kuroko, offering a bow to the elderly woman at the same time as he welcomed the book with both hands. “I have now even more reasons to return as soon as possible. Please do tell your daughter-in-law that I shall take very good care of it until then.”

 

After one more bow in between the two of them, Kuroko returned to Akashi’s side at the same time as he quite happily – or so it seemed in the midst of his expressionless – safeguarded the small book inside the inner pocket of his upper clothes. As Akashi casually observed the bluenette walk back to his side, the elderly woman took a completely unexpected action towards Kuroko’s departure. She bowed down once again and took one of her trembling hands to her forehead, her lips seemingly mumbling something.

 

“Seirin seems to be fairing quite well in the economics department,” commented Akashi as he resumed his walking with Kuroko, his brain still spiralling around the elderly woman’s actions. The number of humans started to enlarge and the peaceful ambience was turned into a boisterous landscape of merchants trying to sell their products.

 

“Seirin’s territory is limited to what is within our walls,” said Kuroko, his teal eyes satisfactorily skirting through the stalls filled with the most diverse of products and those that or sold said products or were about to enjoy them in the comfort of their housing. “Our territory is limited hence our resources are limited. We are self-sufficient to a certain degree, but there is also plenty that we cannot produce with all of our limits. So we can continue to provide all citizens with what they require, we have always made an effort to keep healthy relationships with the neighbouring kingdoms.”

 

“What is Seirin’s main product in trade relationships?” inquired Akashi, putting his hands behind his back as he continued to cross the street with a carefree manner, his heterochromatic eyes attentively capturing everything placed within his surroundings.

 

“I wonder?” said Kuroko, tilting his head slightly to the left as he thought about the answer to the demon’s question.

 

“You don’t know your own kingdom’s trade products?” asked Akashi once again, an eyebrow slightly arched. He hadn’t pegged Kuroko to lack such knowledge, mainly because he seemed extremely well aware of everything going around.

 

“No, I do,” answered Kuroko while straightening his head once again. “I just do not know how to answer in a way where a demon would understand.”

 

“What is—“

 

“Oh-oh! If it isn’t Kuroko-sama!” happily greeted a merchant from one of the stalls. “Have you come today to feast thyself with more treats?”

 

“No, today I’m here for official causes,” answered Kuroko, offering a quick bow to the merchant. He then gestured one of his hands towards Akashi. “The palace is welcoming some guests from other countries. I was left in charge of introducing our kingdom to one of them.”

 

“I see thou have not sneaked out of the palace once again, then,” laughed the merchant as he organized several plates and small leather pouches throughout the stall’s main front area.

 

“It’s not like I’m sneaking out all the time…” mumbled Kuroko while twisting his nose just the slightest.

 

“Our King would beg to diffe— Owowow…” started the merchant but once he straightened his back after sorting his products on the stall, he couldn’t help but wince in pain while massaging his back.

 

“Are you okay?” worriedly inquired Kuroko, taking half a step towards the merchant. His teal eyes were filled with worry.

 

“Yes, I shall live, Kuroko-sama,” sighed the merchant, waving his hand around to dismiss the matter while his other one continued massaging his lower back. “Recently, I’ve been carrying too many boxes with my products, not to mention the large bags with the ingredients. I’m not getting any younger here, ahahahaha. So no need for thy worry.”

 

“I shall inform Kagetora-san and request him to pay you a visit as soon as his schedule allows him,” said Kuroko, his eyes quickly scanning the merchant so he could certify himself that it wasn’t more urgent than the man wanted to let on.

 

“You spoil us far too much, Kuroko-sama,” awkwardly laughed the merchant while bowing deeply at the bluenette. He motioned one of his hands forward and took hold of one of the small leather pouches featured in his stall, turning around to face Kuroko afterwards. “Please accept these as a display of gratitude. Freshly baked.”

 

“I wonder who is the one being spoiled here,” chuckled Kuroko as he also offered a quick bow to the merchant and readily accepted the pouch with both hands. “Thank you very much.”

 

“We have received far much more from thy than we can ever fathom to repay, Kuroko-sama,” said the merchant, offering a few more bows to the bluenette after he delivered him the pouch.

 

“No such thi—“

 

“It’s Kuroko-chama!!!” yelled a young girl out of the blue, peeking her head out of one of the nearby house’s doorway. The young girl – probably not older than 4 or 5 of age – quickly straightened her clothes and came running in Kuroko’s direction, her arms stretched forward in front of her body.

 

“Kuroko-sama!” yelped a few more children, smiles on their faces as they came out from different houses and buildings and readily started running to Kuroko.

 

“Should you not be playing by the riverside at this hour of the day?” asked Kuroko, gently picking up one of the smallest children and holding her against his chest.

 

“We just came back!”

 

“Koganei-sama told us that we should return home early today~”

 

“Mommy and Daddy were super surprised when I got back!”

 

“Mine too, mine too! Ahahahaha!”

 

“Is that so?” acknowledged Kuroko, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. When he felt something tugging at his clothes, he looked down and then crouched down his body, so he could stand at the same height as the small boy that had grabbed onto his garments. “What is the matter?”

 

“Here,” said the small boy, gently putting a crown made of white clovers and carnations flowers on top of Kuroko’s head.

 

“Wow, so pretty!!” exclaimed the group of children almost in unison, their eyes wide open as they closely looked at the bluenette.

 

“Thank you very much,” said Kuroko, a bright smile on his lips as he lovingly patted the small boy’s head. When he looked sideways, he saw Akashi staring over in his direction with a quite complex expression on his face. Kuroko softly cleared his throat and put the little girl back on the floor, quickly straightening his body back to a standing position. “I shall return to my duties now. Please do use this opportunity to help your parents and family with their own.”

 

“Yes~ Let’s play again in the river, okay, Kuroko-sama?”

 

Kuroko softly nodded his head, offered one more bow to the merchant and then turned around on his heels, returning to Akashi’s side.

 

“My apologies, Your Highness,” said Kuroko, offering a small bow to Akashi at the same time as he removed the flower crown from his head, gently holding onto it with his free hand. “It is my duty to tour you around Seirin but we’ve been interrupted in more than one instance due to my personal interactions.”

 

“No offence was taken,” answered Akashi, throwing a masked glance backwards as he and the bluenette resumed with their walking. What he found behind them was a nearly identical scenario from before.

 

Not only the merchant and the group of children but several other citizens that had been working around them throughout the conversations were all bowing down, their fingers lightly touching their foreheads.

 

“Your Highness, would you like to try some?” inquired Kuroko, opening the small pouch and revealing its insides to the redhead. “It is one of the products that we commercialise to the neighbouring kingdoms, though in a very small scale. They are sweet biscuits and go very well together tea or as a light snack in between meals.”

 

“…They were gifted to you, it would be unbecoming of me to take them,” answered Akashi, returning his heterochromatic gaze to the bluenette. “Feel free to enjoy them, nevertheless.”

 

Kuroko only silently nodded and took one of the biscuits from inside of the small leather pouch, bringing it to his mouth and softly starting to nibble at the sweet treat. They walked for a long while in complete silence, only the bustling of the market around them providing background music to their ears.

 

Soon enough, they found themselves at the other end of the market street, the notorious sound starting to drown in the midst of emptier and quieter residential streets.

 

“Most of our citizens live in this area,” explained Kuroko, finally breaking the silence between the two of them. “For those that require a more specialised workshop, they live close to the riverside, as water is more often than not an essential tool for them. Our farming fields and animals are also kept by the riverside, for quite obvious reasons.”

 

“It is still bewildering to me how such a functional and autonomous kingdom has remained unmapped from my knowledge up until recently,” breathed Akashi, more questions than ever floating around inside of his head.

 

“Demons do not associate themselves with human matters,” pointed out Kuroko, still nibbling at the biscuits. “And we, humans, feel the same. It is an unconscious mutualism that would be most beneficial to keep. Be it from our side… be it from your side.”

 

“It will not be the words of a mere human that will move me or my goals,” said Akashi, tightening his gaze just the slightest as he closely observed Kuroko. “Those that do not stand by my side or underneath me, stand in my opposition. Said opposition is evidently something that it is my duty to eliminate. Whether it winds up being an entire human kingdom or simply those that oppose me within it.”

 

“Your Highness, a small piece of advice,” interrupted Kuroko, halting his walking and lowering his hands to the side of his body as he looked straight at the demon king. “Kindness shall be repaid with kindness. Both sides will win. However, hatred only births discord and violence. Everyone loses. For a being as wise as you, a demon king, should be, would it not be to your biggest interest to remain a winner by the means of allowing the world to remain as it is?”

 

“Allowing the world to remain as it is would make me a loser for all eternity,” were the words Akashi was about to utter if a human bark had not interrupted his voice as it was about to exit his mouth.

 

“Kuroko!” called Kagami, a deep frown on his features as he walked over in Kuroko’s and Akashi’s direction, accompanied by both Hyuuga and Kiyoshi.

 

 _I knew it…,_ inwardly cursed Kuroko, a deadpan look on his face as he observed Kagami and the other two members of Seirin’s court coming closer and closer to their location.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	10. The Wheel of Fortune X

“There’s just no freaking way I’m gonna say yes and that’s final,” loudly declared Kagami, doing his utmost to control himself and not bang his fist against the wooden table in front of him. It had been a herculean effort to accomplish such and he inwardly congratulated himself for only having clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

 

“We know that and we also agree with what you’re saying,” acknowledged Riko with a sharp nod of her head and a grave demeanour on her features. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her back on the chair. “But! We can’t just tell them no.”

 

“The fuck we can’t!” roared Kagami, getting up from his chair in a single motion and slamming his palms on the table. “This is a human kingdom. The demons and all the other assholes out there have absolutely no business with us and the entire area within our walls! Besides, where the heck did that demonic spawn got the idea of going for world domination out of the blue!?”

 

“You understand the minds of demons just as well as all of us,” pointed out Hyuuga, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders. He sighed. “Just give it up, Kagami. Trying to understand why they do what they do and plan what they plan would be the same as trying to understand how it would be possible to have a nightly day.”

 

“Rather than focusing on why the Demon King of Rakuzan is seeking world domination, it would be more important to try to focus on countermeasures for it,” suggested Izuki Shun, quickly running his eyes through a handwritten paper map of the Kingdom of Seirin and its neighbouring regions. “Like Riko said, we won’t tell them yes, but we can’t exactly say no either. Akashi would definitely up his game and send this whole area down to hell. Then we would really become a part of his domain.”

 

“This is not the time for your terrible puns, Izuki,” grumbled Hyuuga while rolling his eyes around. “But yes, I can clearly predict what the almighty Demon King’s reaction will be when we once again deny him of what he wants. We all know very well how bad the relationship between humankind and demonkind is. One way or another, we’ve all been victims of their uncalled for hatred towards us. Then again, the same can be said about the other ones…”

 

“But isn’t Akashi going for all kingdoms and empires, regardless of the kind that occupies that area?” suddenly interrupted Kiyoshi, a small frown on his features as he closely thought about this deadly problem. “I don’t think this is something as simple as the demons’ hatred towards humankind. There must be some other reason behind his sudden change of plans in regards to the destiny of our world.”

 

“Five centuries of relative peace must have started to bore him to death so he decided to spice things up by creating yet another era ruled by blood and iron,” grumbled Kagami under his breath, dropping his body back down to his chair at the same time as he crossed his arms over his chest. His childish pouting expression soon regained a more adult and grave demeanour. “Would Seirin’s walls be able to withstand a direct attack by the Demon King?”

 

“…That’s hard to say,” bitterly confessed Riko, twisting her nose just the slightest at her own words. “I mean, in his eyes, what are we? A mere human kingdom. Would a king be the one attacking another kingdom? Of course he would resort to his minions. So my take on it is that, for as long as it’s not Akashi himself doing the warring, then yes, both us and our walls would be able to withstand any attack they throw at us. But if Akashi intervenes…”

 

“We might not be able to hold out, right?” sighed Kagami, finishing the sentence that the female counsellor felt too grievous about to say out loud. He switched his gaze to the person sitting on his right side. “What do you think about it, Kuroko?”

 

“…”

 

“Kuroko?” called Kagami once again, one of his eyebrows arching as he peered over to the bluenette more closely. He uncrossed his arms and motioned his right hand to the side, dropping it right on top of Kuroko’s head. “Kuroko, is something the matter?”

 

“Eh?” softly interjected Kuroko, his mind returning to reality the moment he felt a somewhat uncomfortable pressure on top of his head. When he looked sideways and saw Kagami looking over on his direction, just as well as all the other members of Seirin’s court, he softly cleared his throat and bowed his head just the slightest. “I’m sorry, I think I spaced out for a little bit. Could you please repeat the question?”

 

“We just asked about how our walls would hold up against a direct attack from Akashi rather than his brainless slaves, but never mind that right now,” quickly summarised Kagami at the same time as he fully turned his body around to face Kuroko. “Are you okay? Are you feeling sick once again or something?”

 

“No, I’m okay,” readily answered Kuroko, offering a small smile to the redhead so as to soothe down his worried demeanour. “My mind just automatically switched to other thoughts and I found myself at a complete loss over what was truly going on around my surroundings.”

 

“What kind of thoughts could be more important than the freaking imminent attack by a horde of demons or maybe the Demon King himself?” asked Kagami, his brows growing even more creased and furrowed.

 

“Ah…” At that not-all-that-unexpected question, Kuroko felt all of his breath get stuck inside of his lungs, his tongue searching for words – any words, at this point – but being unable to find any plausible excuse to his extremely unusual behaviour.

 

To be honest, Kuroko’s thoughts hadn’t been that far away from the matters being discussed by the council. However, rather than being about the incoming attack by Rakuzan and its king, it was purely about Akashi.

 

About Akashi and the nearly heartbreaking expression that had suddenly consumed his entire being when Kuroko’s leave from the tour was announced by Seirin’s king.

 

About Akashi and how the Demon King had motioned his hand forward, aiming to grab at something – or someone – but ultimately giving up mid-attempt.

 

“I’m sorry…” ended up apologizing Kuroko, his gaze downcast on the wooden table and fingers shyly fiddling with the sleeves of his clothes.

 

“Well, Kuroko-kun must still be feeling tired because of his on solo escapade outside of Seirin,” said Riko, trying to prevent Kagami from questioning Kuroko to death. When she saw the king get an even heavier frown on his features, she readily understood that she had stepped on a few other landmines. “ H-He’s not used to travel alone and then he also had that matter with the Demon King, yes, but Kuroko-kun wouldn’t lie to us if something bad or… um…”

 

“Sketchy,” whispered Kiyoshi, as a suggestion to help appease the king’s wrath.

 

“Or sketchy! Had happened to him while travelling with Akashi,” continued Riko, throwing a silent ‘thank you’ to Kiyoshi with her eyes. “You’ve known Kuroko-kun for as many years as I, and you’ve been living with him throughout most of them. You should give him some slack from time to time, Kagami.”

 

“Riko’s right,” acknowledged Koganei Shinji, nodding his head with a grin on his features. Mitobe Rinnosuke was silently doing the same by his side. “If something was wrong with Kuroko, you would have been the first one to know or notice.”

 

“…” Kagami threw a long gaze towards Kuroko, who still remained silent and with his gaze downcast, and then sighed, adjusting his sitting position to face the table properly once again. He grumbled under his breath before clearing his throat loudly. “...’know all of that much better than all of you do… Anyway!! The demonic spawn, the attack, the walls. Kuroko, go!”

 

“Our walls have never been under demonic attack so I can’t say for sure what would happen,” said Kuroko, his teal gaze still uncertainly scavenging through the wooden surface in front of him. “We know both of our defence and offence work perfectly fine against demons, as well as against a lot of other creatures and beings. Most of us and our citizens would be dead otherwise.”

 

“…” There was a silent exchange of glances in between quite a few members of the council.

 

“However, we must take into consideration that the Kingdom of Seirin was off the map as far as it concerned the demons,” continued Kuroko, a little bit more confidently now. “We do not know how well the wall’s defences will work against an attack by demons. I agree with Riko-san in regards to the minions’ effectiveness against it. The weaker ones won’t be able to do much damage, if any at all. Larger and stronger demons, such as Vetalas or Hellhounds… might cause a bit of a ruckus around here. If Your Highness were to bring forward Orthrus or Ammit, it would be an unknown… If Your Highness himself were to inflict the attack, I simply can’t bring myself to say that everything will be okay…”

 

“We know Akashi has earned himself the title of ‘Demon King’ but…” started Izuki with a certain reticence. “Is he really that powerful?”

 

“My knowledge on demonkind is of the same level as yours so please take it with a grain of salt,” said Kuroko, twisting his nose a little bit. “If Your Highn—“

 

“Stop calling him ‘Your Highness’…!” growled Kagami, finally succumbing to anger and slamming his fist on the wooden table. “You having to attend to him is already reason enough for me to slaughter him, don’t give me even more reasons to get down to it the next time I lay my eyes on him!”

 

“K-Kagami…?” incredulously called Riko, her eyes wide open as she stared at the raging redhead. She took a sideways glance to Kuroko, who seemed as surprised as her, and then returned her gaze to her king.

 

“Tsk!” Clicking his tongue loudly, Kagami got up from his chair and furiously stomped towards the balcony attached to the council room. “I need to catch some fresh air. ‘Be back in a few.”

 

When the balcony’s doors were closed with a bang behind Kagami, the entire room could breathe once again.

 

 _I know he has a short fuse, but is it just me or is it getting shorter and shorter since this morning?_ , inwardly sighed Riko, softly shaking her head at her king’s attitude. _I just pray that he won’t blow up out of the blue and do something that he shouldn’t. Or_ say _something that he shouldn’t…_

 

“Riko-san, would you mind if I…?” asked Kuroko, his usual expressionless demeanour in his features as he gestured towards the balcony.

 

“Please do try to get him under control again, yes,” acknowledged Riko with a quite exasperated voice. “Just give us a shout if he needs some more hostile persuasion.”

 

“Is there a fiercer persuasion than my gut punches?” deadpanned Kuroko while looking straight at the female councillor – though when he softly got up from his seat, there was a small smile shadowing his lips.

 

Kuroko walked towards the balcony, opened the door and then gently closed it behind himself. The mid-afternoon breeze gently caressed his features and light blue hair, not strong enough to make his clothes rustle. Kagami was on the edge of the balcony, his torso perched over the wall as he stared away into the distance.

 

“Today, one of the children from the merchant district gave me a flower crown,” said Kuroko, stopping beside Kagami. A soft smile on his lips, he also stared away in the same direction as him. “It made me feel quite nostalgic.”

 

“…I used to be the only one giving you flower crowns before…” grumbled Kagami under his breath, avoiding looking in the bluenette’s direction as he said such.

 

“Is this jealousy I’m hearing?” deadpanned Kuroko, switching his gaze to the redhead.

 

“Fuck off…!” groaned Kagami, hiding his bright red features by changing the leaned position of his arms and placing one of his hands half in front of his face.

 

“I shall do exactly that, then,” said Kuroko, taking a step backwards and then turning around on his heels to walk back inside of the council room.

 

“W-Wait…!!” yelped Kagami, readily propelling his torso from the short wall and lunging his hands towards Kuroko. He grabbed him by the waist and hugged him from behind. With a tired sigh, he rested his chin on top of the bluenette’s head. “Sorry, Kuroko… You disappeared all of a sudden and absolutely no one knew of your whereabouts. Do you have any idea of how fucking worried I was!? You were gone, Shirou was gone too and no one, not even the gatekeepers had seen you! I was worrying myself sick and Riko even went as far as kicking me out of my functions because she was accusing me of ruining the kingdom!”

 

“…”

 

“And then you show up again as if nothing had happened, together with that demonic asshole!!” continued rumbling Kagami, his brow twitching just the slightest in anger. “No matter what kind of excuses you try to come up with, I’m no fool! I know very well that he has his eyes on you, Kuroko! And I know you know it too. I’ve long stopped trying to figure out what goes inside of your head. How couldn’t I, after knowing you since I was a brat? But this time you’re going overboard… Right now, not knowing what you’re thinking is as vexing as the demonic spawn’s presence in our kingdom…”

 

“I’ve made you worry, didn’t I, Kagami-kun…?” sighed Kuroko, softly putting his hand over Kagami’s arm and gently patting the muscled limb.

 

“You can bet your ass you did!” groaned Kagami in exasperation, rolling his eyes around as he ground his chin on the top of the bluenette’s head.

 

“What am I to do with you?” sighed Kuroko, coincidentally also rolling his eyes around as a small smile popped out in his features. “No matter how many years go by, still a child on the inside.”

 

“Hey, I’m taller than you already!!” defended himself Kagami, putting even more pressure on the bluenette’s head with his chin. “Not to mention, I’m technically your King! How about some respect here?”

 

“And I’m technically older than you,” countered Kuroko, giving a nudge to Kagami’s stomach with his elbow as a warning. “Why don’t you show me the same respect and give me the same freedom as you do with Hyuuga-san and Kiyoshi-san and Riko-san and all the other members of the council?”

 

“Hah! As if I could do that to someone supposedly older but still with the ‘runaway princess’ syndrome,” snorted Kagami, a smirk on his features as he removed his chin from on top of Kuroko’s head and took his arms off of around his waist.

 

“Maybe your childishness is rubbing off on me,” deadpanned Kuroko as he tried to straighten down the bird’s nest that all the grinding and rubbing caused on his hair.

 

“Why, you little…!” barked Kagami, widely grinning as he grabbed Kuroko by the head and ruffled his hair even further. “Here you go! A bit more of childishness for your exclusive use, _Sir_.”

 

“K-Kagami-kun, enough alr—“

 

“AHEM!!” When both Kagami and Kuroko heard that oh-so-known fake cough, a shudder ran down their spines. They looked over to the balcony’s door, where they could see Riko threateningly smiling at them. “Have you had your dose of frolicking around? Good, because it’s time to get back to work. You know, like YOU SHOULD BE ALREADY!”

 

“Y-Yes…” said the both of them in unison, Kagami readily opening the door and sneaking inside of the council room in front of Kuroko.

 

“Geez, you two are unbelievable…” sighed Riko, shaking her head in disappointment as she returned to her seat. “At a serious time like this… One runs away, the other should take a few more anger management instruction classes from Hyuuga…”

 

“That one stabbed quite deep, Riko…” grumbled Hyuuga, sideways glancing at the brunette.

 

“Are you feeling in better shape now, Kagami?” asked Riko after throwing a quick wink to Hyuuga. “I mean, if you were only having another attack of ‘Kuroko-time’ withdrawals, you should have said something earlier.”

 

“Shut up…” half-heartedly barked Kagami, crossing his arms over his chest in a sulking motion.

 

“Um, Riko-san,” intervened Kuroko out of the blue, one of his hands raised in the air. Once Riko turned around just the slightest to face him, he proceeded. “About what we were talking before this small intermission… I have a suggestion. I believe it might be the only solution to safely rid Seirin of the demon visitors. Even if just for the time being.”

 

“Let’s hear it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
> [Tumblr](http://mafymod.tumblr.com/)  
> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profile of M0 is up and M1 is coming out in a couple of hours!]


	11. The Wheel of Fortune XI

“Riko…” called Kagami, staring away to the outside of one of the windows in the banquet salon, which was going through the final checks and preparations before the start of the banquet to welcome the foreign guests. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

 

“W-What… What are you saying out of nowhere, Kagami!?” yelped Hyuuga, his eyes wide open in surprise. Riko had been too shocked to utter a single rebuke at the appalling words that the redhead had just spewed. “Do you have a death wish that involves becoming a slave to the demons? Then go do it by yourself, don’t involve the rest of us in your suicidal stunts!!”

 

“I’m talking about Kuroko,” shortly said Kagami, throwing a quick glance to the council members that were attending to the preparation of the banquet: Riko, Hyuuga and Kiyoshi. The remaining members had returned to their functions, with the additional work of getting some other preparations done – just in case they were truly to be used. Kuroko had, grudgingly to Kagami, returned to attend to Akashi and Mibuchi.

 

“Why are you having second thoughts about Kuroko-kun all of a sudden?” calmly asked Riko, putting all the tableware she was holding back on the table and walking towards Kagami. “Everything is going okay so—“

 

“But it might stop going okay at any moment now,” interrupted Kagami, releasing a tired sigh afterwards. “If things had been going as usual, I wouldn’t even think about it. But the circumstances have changed, as we’re all fucking aware of. We should tell him.”

 

“Have you gone insane!?” yelled Riko, quickening her pace so as to more quickly reach Kagami. “Telling Kuroko-kun about it may cause more harm than any other thing! We’re all aware of it and it’s already a big ass risk as it is. If Kuroko-kun knows about it too… then you would be denying everything he has built so far!”

 

“…!” Kagami hastily whipped his head around to look at Riko, his hand tightly closing around the handle of his sword. “I have no intention of denying anything that Te—“

 

“Calm down, the both of you,” interrupted Kiyoshi, trying to pacify both Kagami and Riko by skilfully putting himself between the two of them. “Kagami, you know you’re forbidden from using that name at hearing shot. Not to mention, we are housing demons in the palace at the moment. Be extremely mindful of what you say.”

 

“Tsk!!” Kagami clicked his tongue in annoyance and released the handle of the sword after giving it a final squeeze.

 

“Riko, you also understand that Kagami is only taking Kuroko’s best interests into consideration by saying that, don’t you?” continued Kiyoshi, turning his full attention to the brunette, now that he knew that he had momentarily sealed Kagami’s sulking mouth. “We’ve been lying to Kuroko for nearly decades now. Some of us have more guilty consciousnesses about it than others, especially in Kagami’s case. Kuroko knowing about it is a threat, yes, but who do you think he is? If he hasn’t discovered about it all on his own, then he has a very strong suspicion of it already. He’s no idiot, far from it. Also, just as Kagami said, the circumstances have changed. Akashi has come to Seirin and he has been alive for how many millenniums now? From what Izuki has heard, he wasn’t even born in this world – that’s how old he is. We have never seen any of _them_ , but I’m pretty sure that the Demon King of Rakuzan has. And I’m pretty sure that’s why he was so insistent in having Kuroko attend to him.”

 

“And even knowing all of that, you still didn’t back me up when I tried to stop Kuroko from accepting it!” said Kagami, strongly crossing his arms over his chest so as to stop himself from punching the nearest thing to him. Dining in a saloon with a broken window was certainly not the kind of reception that he intended to show Akashi, who he knew very well able to use it against him later on.

 

“If we had forcibly refused Akashi, he would have immediately thought that we were trying to hide something about Kuroko-kun from him,” sighed Riko, having somewhat recovered her cool after having heard Kiyoshi’s discourse. “And then it would be his turn to forcibly uncover those secrets. Better just leave Kuroko-kun do his thing and misdirect Akashi’s attention towards other matters.”

 

“I still think we should tell him,” said Kagami, shaking his head in denial to what he was hearing. “We’ve been lying to protect him. Because it _was_ the best sort of protection and reassurance we could give him after all of that shit. But that protection might stab him in the back at any second, for as long as he’s together with Akashi and the incubus! He’s no fool, I know that. But when was the last time he interacted with demons this closely?”

 

“Kagami,” called Hyuuga as a warning, before the redhead started saying more than he should once again. “Measure your words. It’s almost time for the banquet to start, who knows if Kuroko and the demon guests aren’t already on their way here.”

 

“I know that, damn it!” cursed Kagami one more time, taking a few deep breaths afterwards to try to calm down. “I just… want Kuroko to continue living a peaceful life, far away from those fucking assholes that… that… Shit, I just want him to keep being happy.”

 

“That’s exactly what we also want for him, Bakagami,” sighed Riko, giving a soft punch in the redhead’s upper arm. Both Hyuuga and Kiyoshi joined in it, giving powerful slaps on his back in quick session. “Throughout all of these years, have we ever disappointed you or Kuroko-kun? Have a little bit more faith in us!”

 

“Yeah, you’re right…” awkwardly acknowledged Kagami, lightly scratching the back of his head while avoiding direct eye contact with the three of them. “I guess I panicked a bit here, didn’t I…? Sorry…”

 

“Yes, yes, we all know how important Kuroko-kun is to Mister King here,” scoffed Riko while rolling her eyes around.

 

“He’s my only living family, of course he’s important to me!” acknowledged Kagami, a large grin – a quite innocent and childish one at that – occupying his features.

 

“I feel offended,” said Riko, crossing her arms over her chest and faking a sulking expression. “I thought you also considered us your family.”

 

“Only on the days you’re not chasing after me to force me to attend to my royal duties,” smartly answered Kagami, inwardly sticking his tongue out at Riko. He knew she would kill him if he truly stuck his tongue out at her…

 

“I can find a method to make sure you perpetually, for all eternity and even beyond it, attend to your royal duties without having me chase you all around the palace,” threatening said Riko, a bright smile on her face as she slowly slid her thumb through her neck.

 

“P-Please spare me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
> [Tumblr](http://mafymod.tumblr.com/)  
> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi! [UPDATE: Found an artist, character profile of M0 is up and M1 is coming out in a couple of hours!]


	12. The Wheel of Fortune XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!  
> Yes, I finally managed to get out of my writer's block for this series so By Blood and Iron is back in the game!!
> 
> Warning: gore
> 
> I hope you enjoy~

“I announce the presence of Akashi Seijuurou, the first of his name, King and Monarch of the Kingdom of Rakuzan, the land of demons,” said Izuki as loudly as he could so that his voice would carry over through the entirety of the large dining hall. “His counsellor, Mibuchi Reo, member of the court of the Kingdom of Rakuzan, from the Incubus lineage.”

 

At those words, the large mahogany double doors were languishingly open by the two soldiers keeping guard on the inside of the dining hall. Behind those monstrous doors awaited them two even more monstrous beings, though their fair and handsome features would tell otherwise. The only indication that both Akashi and Mibuchi were not humans, but demons, was Mibuchi’s incubus tail waving around in the air… and the demonic presence that exuded from every single pore in Akashi’s body.

 

Silently, as if simply shadowing the demonic duo, Kuroko walked slightly behind Akashi as the three of them stepped inside of the dining hall. Kuroko couldn’t help but heave a satisfied small sigh when he saw the dining hall properly ornamented, as he suspected that Kagami would try to insert some sort of mocking decoration out of spite to Akashi.

 

“Please, do take the seats that please you the most,” announced Kagami, getting up from his seat - placed at the head of the large banquet table - and opening his arms wide in invitation. A knowing smirk was present in his lips as he focused his eyes on the demon king. “I assure you that none of the dishes you’ll taste while in my house have been seasoned with poison to kill vermins.”

 

_ Why do I have such an idiot for a king…? _ , inwardly sighed Kuroko, feeling like facepalming himself right there and then. But maybe the best course of action would be to silence Kagami by gently drowning him in the soup.

 

“Yes, that would be advisable,” acknowledged Akashi, a smirk equally mischievous on his features. “It would leave me with an even worse impression of humankind if the host had fortuitously committed suicide before my very own eyes.”

 

_ Yes, this surely is having a great start, _ ironised Kuroko in the back of his mind as he inwardly rolled his teal eyes around. He took a quick glance at Riko and Hyuuga, who had equally gotten up from their respective seats at the guests’ arrival, and he could clearly see that both of them were slowly starting to boil in annoyance too - albeit both did a better job at hiding their dismal than their king. So as to avoid things from spiralling out of control even further, Kuroko swiftly turned around on his heels and looked over to the two guests. “Your Highness, Mibuchi-sama, please, if you will.”

 

“Where shall you be installed, Kuroko?” inquired Akashi, not giving any indication that he would sit down at the dining table any time soon. The humans could afford to wait and they would wait for as long as it pleased him.

 

“Beside my King, as it is expected of his loyal followers,” readily answered Kuroko, taking a quick glance to the empty chair next to the one where Kagami was standing in front of.

 

“Is it, now?” snorted Akashi, a taunting glint in his heterochromatic eyes as he also glanced over in Kagami’s direction. “Very well. I shall seat abreast of you, Kuroko, as a far away position would get in the way of your temporary servitude towards my person. Reo, sit wherever it would please you the most.”

 

“I’m afraid that such a seat does not exist in this hall, My King,” said Mibuchi, a small sigh of displeasure escaping their lips afterwards. “It would be extremely discourteous if I were to sit on a human’s lap during such a paramount occasion. Hence I’ll content myself with the seat that allows me the best view of all of these handsome faces~”

 

_ I should learn a thing or two from Mibuchi, _ inwardly said Riko, observing how every single person, including their king, fully clammed up and awkwardly sat as close to the table as possible.  _ Mibuchi somehow managed to cool down the animosity floating around in the air by bathing the atmosphere with discomfiture. _

 

In a matter of seconds, everyone was sat down in the places which they had chosen. To Kagami’s chagrin, Akashi had indeed taken the seat next to Kuroko. He had attempted to avoid it by saving only one free seat between himself and Hyuuga and Riko on the other seat next to him, but Akashi smartly coerced Hyuuga into moving to a different seat through the means of Mibuchi and some very heated and immoral gazes and winks they had thrown at the captain. Hence, Hyuuga sought to have his dinner as far away from the incubus as the length of the table allowed him to.

 

Some moments later, the dishes started to be served. Several servants and maids carried from a secondary door, connected to the kitchen by a long corridor, several sets of trays with plates and platters. Some also carried jars filled with both cold and heated hippocras.

 

“Today’s meal is pork chowder with seasonal vegetables, grilled salmon in a bed of bread and honey lemon sauce, and venison with leek, onion and spices, with a side of pea pottage,” announced Izuki as the servants and maids swiftly spread the plates in front of the table’s occupants. “The latest harvest of grapes was on the same day when we received a large shipment of cinnamon from the south and, hence, this set of hippocras has been sinfully sweetened with cinnamon and ginger. As a complement of our chef, custard tarts for dessert, with plenty of saffron to suit the taste of our royal guests.”

 

“Takeda-san is a wonderful cooker so I’m sure that his dishes will suit your palates,” said Kiyoshi, taking a seat next to Riko while smiling ruefully at the two guests. “I’ve also certified myself that our head counsellor was kept far away from the kitchens so you have no need to fear poisoning.”

 

“You sound hungry, Teppei, so how about some bread?” said Riko, trying to control the anger in her voice as she grabbed a large slice of wheat bread and stuffed it inside of Kiyoshi’s mouth. She awkwardly laughed as she straightened her sitting position and directed her following words to the demon king. “I would never house such terrible thoughts and schemes towards a guest. Etiquette rules dictate that guests should be offered protection under the host’s roof. Some humans may overrule such but we pride ourselves of being civic enough to accommodate all guests. Even ones of the demon kind.”

 

“What you, humans, address as poison may be nothing more than a spice for us, demons,” answered back Akashi, a knowing smirk on his lips as he lowered his eyes down to the food placed in front of him. “It would be quite foolish of your kind to house the thoughts that poison would work on us, not ones that embrace the murder of a king.”

 

“My King, would you like me to pour you some hippocras?” inquired Kuroko, ignoring completely the biting words being thrown at one of his counsellors by the guest sitting next to him. If Akashi wanted to continue with his incessant squabbles against humankind, then he could continue with them throughout the entire dinner time. He would make sure that Kagami would keep his behaviour as royal and tranquil as it is expected of a person with his status.

 

“Kuroko, we’ve gone through all of the formalities and all that,” said Kagami, taking a hold of his metal goblet and motioning it closer to the bluenette. “I’m sure our guests wouldn’t mind it if you address me the same way you do while we’re in private.”

 

“But…” hesitantly mumbled Kuroko, taking a quick sideways glance at Akashi and then returning his uncertain gaze back to Kagami. He sighed. “Very well. Would you like some hippocras, Kagami-kun?”

 

“Keep it raining down, Kuroko,” acknowledged Kagami, a huge satisfied grin illuminating his face as he lightly bumped his goblet against the drink’s jar, urging the bluenette to serve him the offered alcoholic beverage.

 

“Please don’t get drunk so early in the evening,” sighed Kuroko, carefully pouring the spiced wine in Kagami’s cup. “Just because I’m addressing to you as usual, it does not change the fact that this is a feast to honour our guests. Do not forget such, Kagami-kun.”

 

“Yes, yes,” acknowledged Kagami while rolling his eyes around. He gave a quick gulp to his beverage then put the goblet down on the table, readily going for the oversized bowl in front of him that contained the piping hot pork chowder.

 

“You will not pour me any drink?” inquired Akashi, his head slightly tilted as he innocently peered over at Kuroko. He faked a disgruntled sigh. “I guess in the presence of your king, your drudgery with my person is set aside.”

 

“My apologies, Your Highness,” said Kuroko, offering a quick bow at the demon king and turning his body slightly around on his seat, so as to make the pouring easier and more steady. “It was not my intention to neglect the duties towards Your Highness that My King has put me in charge of. Would you prefer your hippocras to be served hot or cold?”

 

“Hot,” shortly answered Akashi, a small frown creasing his brows in a masked way. Kuroko truly had nerves made of diamond, for him to so blatantly throw in his face that all he did for Akashi was being done because Kagami consented to it. He took a small sip of appreciation and then settled his goblet back to the table, not giving much importance to his food. “As we had an unforeseen intrusion while you narrated the tales of this newly founded kingdom, why do you not resume where we had left off? And in the presence of the founder, even, who we could also request to join and share his feats and the raison d’être of his kingdom.”

 

“I didn’t peg demons to be interested in history lessons,” snorted Kagami after having swallowed a piece of pork from his chowder. “You clearly don’t learn anything from them, as your own raison d’être is to repeat the same mistakes again and again.”

 

“Was there anything to learn other than how feeble and lily-livered humans are when facing against my kind?” asked Akashi, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders afterwards. “Humans are as useful dead as alive. Nevertheless, your mere existence is a constant annoyance in the back of our minds. You do try your best to shoo away flies, do you not?”

 

“That says more about your kind than ours,” said Kagami, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Flies only flock around piles of shit.”

 

“W-Well, as Kuroko-kun must have told you, Your Highness, the Kingdom of Seirin doesn’t have a very exhaustive history to speak of,” intervened Riko, trying to defuse another incoming arguing session before it could fully start. “Compared to your kingdom, we’re but a newborn country. I believe that some newborns don’t arrive at the world out of a particular reason. Some are nothing more than accidents. That’s exactly how the Kingdom of Seirin came to be. Necessity, coincidences, fate… All of it linked the pieces and people, and the final result is the place where you are standing this very instance.”

 

“An accident, is it…?” breathed Akashi, his voice coming out almost as if a mocking hiss. “Yes, the foolish humans may fall for such convenient tales and join its cause. However, to my displeasure, not all humans are that way. It is only to be expected, as there’s so many of you crawling around this world. So it leads me to question… Are you but one of those fools, Kuroko? Because that was not the verdict you convinced me of, be it throughout this day… be it throughout our travel together to Seirin.”

 

“You think too highly of me, Your Highness,” said Kuroko, softly putting the spoon he was using to eat back on the plate. “Be it My King, Kagami-kun, be it Riko-san or any other member of Seirin’s council, I am just as foolish as all of them. The other way around too, but of course. As I said earlier today, there are some matters that you would not be able to comprehend. Your Highness, you are nothing but a demon. It would be foolish of you to try to understand us, humans, so please do not try to do such. You might hurt yourself, even if merely your pride.”

 

“Pride?” repeated Akashi, softly chuckling afterwards. “I have thrown such a useless emotion away 500 years ago.”

 

_ I have thrown so many things away since the day I first arrived to this world _ , added Akashi in the back of his mind, taking a long sip to his now warm beverage.

 

“It is not a trait of mine to walk around but never step inside, so let us all stop wasting our time,” continued Akashi after having lowered the goblet once again. “I hate humankind and it is a mutual feeling we share. Centuries have passed and will continue to trickle down but such emotion shall never disappear from our hearts, if I still have one myself. However, those centuries have taught me great lessons and tempered me to be a good leader. If the humans bend their knee and unconditionally follow my commands, I still have enough kindness in me to spare their useless lives. Cattle, slaves, citizens, you shall be free to address yourselves in the way that suits your ireful souls the most. Kuroko has advised me to maintain the world as it is, to not break the frail chains that sustain this feeble peace. But tell me, all of you… For the sake of your kingdom, did you not pull out weeds to create your fields? Did you not remove rocks and trees to build your houses? Did you not break stone to erect this palace?”

 

“Is that what you tell yourself at night so you can peacefully fall asleep on top of a mountain of destruction and corpses?” interrupted Kuroko, a small frown present on his features as he looked down to the table. “Those words are nothing more than excuses and broken promises.”

 

_ “If what you seek is a mountain of destruction and corpses to sleep on, I must congratulate you for that is what you gained this night. But those words you told me are now nothing more than excuses and broken promises!” _

 

“You include us in your plans, but you do not hold us in your thoughts, much less in your heart, if you do still have one yourself, as you said,” continued Kuroko, a sudden hazy spell blurring his teal eyes. His head felt numb, the sounds around him felt distant. They were distant, for they were no longer the clicks and clacks of cutlery, but the loud crackling of a sea made of flames. “Yet you dare to say we can claim ourselves as free? You… might as well…………”

 

_ “You have included my children in your plans, but you never held any of them in your thoughts, much less in your heart, if a demon like you ever had one! Yet you dare to tell me that my children were free to choose this? You might as well sacrifice me instead of those I love and created, for my pain would be less in that instance! If you hate me to the point of massacring my own, then you might as well also kill me with your own hands, Akashi-kun!!” _

 

“...!!!!” Kuroko suddenly got up from his seat with a single jump, making the chair topple backwards. His brain felt like a large boulder, for his head seemed to weight over a ton when the numbness faded away. A shiver went down his spine - it was as if all of his blood and body fluids had been turned into ice and clogged his veins and organs.

 

“Kuroko…?” called Kagami, his red eyes wide open in worry as he saw all colour be drained from the bluenette’s features. “Are you feeling okay?”

 

“M-My apologies but I’m indeed not feeling all that well,” said Kuroko, his voice rough and echoing to his ears. He offered a wobbly bow to those sitting down at the dining table. “If you’ll excuse me, I shall go recover my bearings in my chambers…”

 

“Ah…! Kuroko, wait!” said Kagami the moment the bluenette darted on a wobbly run towards the kitchen’s access door. He was about to also run after him when a hand grabbed his shoulder and kept him sat down in the chair.

 

“I’ll go check on him, you  _ need _ to stay here, My King,” said Riko, flashing a quick smile at Kagami before she walked around her chair and ran towards the access door, Kuroko no longer in sight.

 

Riko knew very well that Kagami would have liked to be the one to see what was wrong with Kuroko, but they needed him to stay with Akashi. Having the king himself attending to a mere counsellor would be weird in anyone’s eyes and the demon king had already been given plenty of opportunities to sniff around the secret being kept inside of Seirin’s walls.

 

_ Damn it, where did you run off to, Kuroko-kun? _ , inwardly cursed Riko as she crossed the long corridor in search for an open door, or at least a small indication that one of them had been recently used. She had to find the bluenette as quickly as possible - far too many things were at risk, far too many things could make the world crumble down once again if nothing was done.

 

It had been nothing more than background noise, but a small crashing sound was all that Riko needed to take a sudden halt to her running and lunge one of her hands towards a closed door. Once she opened the door, her eyes were greeted by a dark storage room, several barrels with spices, vegetables and fruits decorating all four walls. Kuroko was in the middle of the room, several oranges spread through the floor together with him, from the broken barrel that he must have bumped into upon falling on the ground.

 

“Kuroko-kun, are you okay!?” asked Riko, readily running towards the bluenette and crouching down next to him. When she gently put her hand on his back, her skin met with wet, warm fabric. When she hesitantly parted her hand from Kuroko’s trembling back, her palm was painted in red. “K-Kuroko...kun?”

 

“I…! I’m…!” gasped Kuroko in between sobs, tears sliding down his pale features and falling on the floor with crystalline sounds. “I’m h-human… A human…! I’m not… I… H-Human… I’m not… h-him… I’m… Human… A human…”

 

“...” At a complete lack of what to say, Riko silently observed as blood continued to flow down from the two large gashes on Kuroko’s back, soaking and flooding the floor around them. The moment the red crimson puddle reached one of the fallen oranges, the fruit cracked in half and the seeds turned into green sprouts that quickly grew into small trees. In front of Kuroko, a small pile of diamonds kept on increasing in height as tear after tear joined his heartbreak. Riko could feel the air get stuck inside of her lungs at seeing Kuroko in so much pain and tears also formed in the corner of her eyes. “Another flashback…? But it hadn’t been this bad the previous times, not even when we once unexpectedly bumped into the King and Queen of Touou on own way back to Seirin…”

 

With a loud click of her tongue, Riko turned around her heels, dipping both of her hands in the puddle of blood underneath her feet before she got up and ran towards the door. She quickly closed the door in front of her, flooding the room in total darkness.

 

Riko closed her eyes, taking a long breath so as to try to calm down her nerves and keep her mind as clear as water. When she exhaled, she motioned her hand towards the door, one of her fingers touching the wooden surface and starting to fill it with bloodied scribbles. In a matter of seconds, the air inside of the storage room quivered and rippled for brief moments, stilling completely afterwards.

 

“I did it…” sighed Riko in relief, her stiff shoulders relaxing a fraction. She put one of her bloodied hands inside of a hidden pocket inside of her clothes and took from there a small slip of paper. Once she ripped it in half, the paper burst into flames - dark green flames that illuminated the entirety of the room but neither consumed the air in it nor burned Riko’s flesh as she held it in her hand.

 

“Human… I’m… human… I…” continued to sob Kuroko, blood still trickling down from his back. “I’m… n-not him… I’m…”

 

“It’s okay, Kuroko-kun. Everything is okay,” said Riko, quickly running back to near the bluenette and settling the green flame in front of them on the floor. She motioned her hands forward and gently embraced Kuroko against her chest. “We’ll keep you safe. None of them will hurt you ever again. I won’t let them, and neither will Kagami or Teppei or Hyuuga or any of Seirin’s citizens. We’re all a big family and true families will always stick together and protect one another.”

 

“I… I’m not… I’m n-not… human… I’m… human… not… him…!”

 

“Yes, you’re Kuroko,” reassured Riko, gently caressing the bluenette’s head with one of her hands. “It’s okay, everything’s okay. So just sleep, Kuroko-kun. Sleep and forget all about it. You’re not him, you’re Kuroko. You don’t need those memories or past anymore. So forget all about it. Forget all about them.”

 

Hour after hour, the green flame kept burning as brightly as when the paper was first ripped in half. In contrast, Kuroko’s sobs and whimpers slowly hushed, until only a rhythmic and spaced breathing filled the storage room.

 

The closed door creaked as its hinged slowly rotated and revealed a new set of flames, these ones orange and yellow as fire should be. A wet splashing sound joined the spaced breaths as three other individuals entered the storage room and stepped on the large pool of blood.

 

“He knows,” said Riko, giving a small sniff afterwards before she slowly turned her head to look at Kagami, Hyuuga and Kiyoshi. “Kuroko-kun knows he’s not a human. He knows who he really is…”

 

“We need to kick out that demonic motherfucker as soon as possible from Seirin,” growled Kagami, crouching down beside Riko and gently taking Kuroko onto his arms. “No, I should just turn him into demon chops and ribs. He and the other fuckers happily living their lives as if they didn’t fucking do what they did!”

 

“Kagami, calm yourself down and don’t do anything rash that you’ll come to regret afterwards,” warned Kiyoshi in the form of a sigh. “No matter how strong you may be, Akashi is the Demon King. Your chances of winning against him in combat are too slim to even be called chances.”

 

“I know that!” furiously barked Kagami back. Softly, he adjusted his hold on the sleeping bluenette and slowly got to a standing position. “But doesn’t it annoy you too!? Five hundred years! It’s been five fucking hundred years since they were purged by those bastards! And even after those many centuries, their presence in this world still haunts him, day and night! We can read about it in books and observe the paintings in the ruins’ walls. But he lived it! He lived and died for it… They should-”

 

“We know, Kagami,” interrupted Riko, furious tears once again gathering in the corner of her eyes. “Better than before, _ I know _ . But do you think it would make him happy? Do you think it would give him peace of mind after 500 years of self-torture? After so many years of living as a human by our side?”

 

“No…” sighed Kagami, protectively holding Kuroko against his chest. “No, it would not… I’m sure that even now, Tetsuya blames himself over it. He may not remember anything or pretend to not know about it while in front of us… but I’m sure he regrets it.”

  
_ That’s why I will never forgive any of them, _ added Kagami in the back of his mind, a deep frown creasing his features as he stared at the pile of diamonds on the floor, part of them painted in red due to the blood pooled down around them.  _ They destroyed and stepped all over what you built with your hands and tears. They ripped your body apart and doomed you into forgetfulness in the world you created. They took everything away from you until all that was left was an empty immortal shell. Tetsuya, tell me, how exactly do you expect me to forgive them and leave them be when they hurt you so much? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	13. The Wheel of Fortune XIII

“Reo, relay your findings throughout this day,” ordered Akashi as he walked deeper inside of his temporary lodgings in Seirin’s palace. He could hear Mibuchi hesitantly following after him as soon as they closed the door behind themselves.

 

“Ah…! Yes, My King,” acknowledged Mibuchi, offering a long, slow bow towards their lord. Once they straightened their body, Mibuchi lightly swallowed in dry so as to regain a little bit of courage to share their discoveries. “As soon as we parted ways in this room, I immediately searched for any human currently undergoing a nap or still sleeping. The few that I could find… Well, I managed to infiltrate their dreams but… I was unable to become an active participant in them…”

 

“Excuse me?” interjected Akashi, quickly turning around on his heels and redirecting his heterochromatic gaze at Mibuchi. One of his eyebrows was slightly arched.

 

“T-The humans in this kingdom are weird, Sei-chan…!” gasped Mibuchi, their androgynous face scrunching slightly in panic. “I tried several times to enter inside of their dreams and succeeded, but was unable to participate in the dreams myself. I went to a small tavern in the town centre and tried to bewitch several townfolks drinking in there, be it as a woman or a man, but all of them refused my advances! Have you ever seen or heard  _ anyone _ refuse an invitation to bed me!? It’s outrageous! They’re weird! This kingdom is not normal!!”

 

“So you have nothing to offer me,” snorted Akashi. He turned around once again and intently stared to the outside night scenery, the moon and stars that decorated the dark sky in between some occasional clouds.

 

“W-Well, yes but…” mumbled Mibuchi, slightly hurt by the heterochromatic redhead’s words and reaction. “B-But I think that not obtaining anything in concrete is the same as acquiring evidence that something is, in fact, going around in this kingdom in particular. They must be hiding something, that’s why they-”

 

“Leave,” shortly commanded Akashi, still staring outside of the room through the balcony’s window. “Leave for I wish to remain alone.”

 

“...” Mibuchi was about to throw some rebukes at Akashi but ultimately decided not to. They took a step forward and, somewhat hesitantly, asked, “Sei-chan… are you okay?”

 

“...”

 

“I’ll try to see if I can discover something throughout the night, when most citizens are sleeping,” said Mibuchi, their shoulders slumping down a fraction in disappointment. They disappeared from in front of the door and appeared once again next to Akashi, who they delivered a chaste kiss to the cheek. Mibuchi grinned. “I’ll see you later, Sei-chan~”

 

Save for the sound of night insects, the spacious bedroom became as silent as a tumb the moment the incubus faded away into the floor, much like they had done earlier in the day.

 

Akashi sighed. He lowered his gaze a fraction, dropping it from the night sky to the pristine window panel where he could see his reflection. One moment he was a human, the other he returned to his demon semblance, with long red strands of hair, pointy ears and two horns jutting out of his forehead. He no longer could tell which appearance disgusted him the most.

 

“Which one of us is the most abhorrent…?” asked Akashi, a question directed to himself rather than to any being in the world. “The fake human that yearned for a place by his side… or the demon that slaughtered his most important someone?”

 

When a wave of self-loathing struck his soul, Akashi lunged his hand upwards and slapped his own face. His sharp nail deeply bit into his skin and long red, bloodied cuts were carved through the length of his features, from his horned forehead down to his chin. Small droplets of blood and water fell by Akashi’s feet.

 

“Five centuries have gone by but you will never disenthral me of your punishment, will you?” sighed Akashi, his face furrowed in pain. Not from the cuts in his face, but the self-inflicted wounds he carried inside of him. “Is this your new way of torturing me? Sending a human that looks like you, talks like you, lives like you as a setback to my current quest? Are you telling me to kill him like I killed you? He has no wings to rip from his back, though. He’d just be one more of your children that got slaughtered by me.”

 

_ “You might as well sacrifice me instead of those I love and created, for my pain would be less in that instance! If you hate me to the point of massacring my own, then you might as well also kill me with your own hands, Akashi-kun!!” _

 

“Aha… Ahahahaha!” started laughing Akashi out of the blue, only water still sliding down his cheeks as the long cuts faded away. “That’s what I did,  ———. I sacrificed and killed you with my own hands. But I’m nothing more than a demon. Your children will keep on perishing by our will. Your own no longer inhabit this world. As for my hate… Why don’t I show it to you once again when I pay you a visit in the afterlife? I shall at least swear that that promise I shall not break, nor will it be hollow words coming from the mouth of a demon.”

 

_ Even if never did I lie to you, even if the broken promises were all by your own choice... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	14. The Wheel of Fortune XIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> Okay, we've had 3 releases in a row, next week the release schedule will go back to the usual "one day this, the other that" chapter release~  
> I just missed By Blood and Iron so much (and was feeling so excited about the chapters) that I ended up breaking my own schedule and arranged it to meet my selfishness XD
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!

A big, empty white saloon. Dozens of marble columns rose from the floor and supported the white sky above him. The air smelled like nothing, his ears heard nothing. Was he alone again? Had the location changed… but was he still alone?

 

A sudden rustling of wings. Had it been his? Had it been his imagination? No, it wasn’t. The large white doors before him soon opened and his imagination wasn’t powerful enough to enable such a feat.

 

_“What is thy name?”_

 

_“Name? A name… I do not know.”_

 

_“You do not know thy own name?”_

 

_“I have been alone for so long, I no longer bethink myself of possessing one.”_

 

_“Shall I offer you one, then?”_

 

Kuroko woke up with a startle. He could feel two warm tongues licking at the sides of his face. When he took his hand from underneath the blankets and the pads of his fingers touched his face, they were welcomed by a small stream of tears.

 

“Awake?” asked a voice from beside his bed. Kuroko slowly turned his throbbing head sideways and found Kagami sat down on the floor, his back leaned on the side of the bed. He turned around and gently placed his big hand on top of the bluenette’s forehead. “How are you feeling?”

 

“I’m fine,” answered Kuroko, sluggishly sitting up on the bed. His head felt unusually heavy, accompanied by the throbbing continuously stabbing at his brain, and when he looked down, he saw a pool of light blue hair all around him. It seemed that his fast-paced hair growing skill had decided to strike once again. “What…?”

 

“You warned me about not getting drunk while in front of the demonic spawn and his servant but then you get smashed yourself,” sighed Kagami, shaking his head around in disapproval. He lunged his hand forward and gently smacked Kuroko’s forehead with his palm. “Just how many cups did you slipped in while we were all talking in between ourselves? When Riko-san went to check on you after you ran off of the dining hall out of the blue, she found you passed out dead drunk in the corridor!”

 

“I’m sorry, Kagami-kun,” apologized Kuroko, lightly rubbing his reddish forehead with his fingers. “I’m not really sure… I can’t remember much of it…”

 

“Of course you can’t, with how dead drunk you were!” groaned Kagami, rolling his eyes around. After both remaining silent for a few seconds, he loudly groaned once again and grabbed the top of Kuroko’s head, strongly ruffling his hair and turning it into a messy cloud of long light blue strands. “Just get back to sleep again! We need you on top condition when day breaks, not on a hangover!”

 

“Ugh… Please stop treating me as if a child…” grumbled Kuroko, quickly slapping Kagami’s hand away before his hair became even more of a mess. If his usual short hair was already quite the chore to tame, it was an impossible quest when long. He sighed and slid back into the bed. “Geez… You should also get some sleep, Kagami-kun. It would give a bad impression if tomorrow you show up before His Highness with an ugly sleep-deprived face.”

 

“It’s okay,” said Kagami, also releasing a soft sigh. He slowly pulled the blankets and gently snuggled them around Kuroko’s laid down body. “I don’t think I would be able to get much sleep either way.”

 

“Too excited to sleep?” asked Kuroko with a deadpan expression, turning his body slightly around in the bed so he could more easily continue talking with Kagami. “You really never change, do you, Kagami-kun?”

 

“Shut it…” grumbled Kagami under his breath, a pout showing on his features.

 

“I meant it as a compliment,” chuckled Kuroko, a small smile sprouting on his lips. “It’s good that you never change. You should stay exactly like you are now, and have always been, forever, Kagami-kun. But not in the same sense as me. I wish to see you with grey and white as hair colour. I wish to see you carry a walking stick rather than a sword.”

 

“Ugh, I don’t want to think of a day where I have to do that,” said Kagami, a small shudder running down his spine. He placed his hand on top of Kuroko’s head and gently, ever so softly, caressed his hair. “Nevertheless, you will. You’ll see my hair become all white and my face get all wrinkled. You’ll see the children grow up to become fine young men and beautiful maidens. Then you’ll be the one wanting to offer them flower crowns rather than receive them.”

 

“I’m clumsier than you are, I cannot make flower crowns,” pointed out Kuroko with a small shrug of his shoulders. “Then again, the first flower crown you gave me didn’t remain intact for more than a few seconds.”

 

“You’re the one to blame for that!” grumbled Kagami, offering a quick flick to Kuroko’s forehead as payback for the teasing. He sighed. “You’ve always been such a huge pain in my ass. You can’t do anything on your own. You can’t cook without cutting yourself. You can’t travel without finding yourself in some sort of trouble. And it seems you can’t even drink without having a grownup controlling your alcohol intake! Seriously, what am I to do with you…?”

 

“I’m sorry for being such a useless person…” apologized Kuroko, slowly retreating his body further below the blankets.

 

“Well, deep down, I also don’t want you to change,” said Kagami, happily grinning at the bluenette. “You’re fine as you are, Kuroko, a huge pain in the ass or not. That’s why… That’s why you understand that for us to remain the same, some other things will need to change… right?”

 

“...” Kuroko simply silently observed as Kagami’s grin slowly changed to a more serious expression, with even a small frown creasing his brows.

 

“So, ultimately, it’s all a matter of which way we want to go,” continued Kagami, once again patting and caressing Kuroko’s head. “Or we change so we can fit in with the world around us or we remain as we are and change the world around us. That demonic spawn has already chosen which side he wants to stand on. I can make the same choice as him but like hell I will stand by his side on it. I know you respect my choices, as well as the ones of those who live in this kingdom. So I also want to respect yours, regardless if they are the same or against my own. If you don’t want-”

 

“I’m with Seirin,” interrupted Kuroko all of a sudden, pushing his body upwards with the help of his arms and then sitting on top of his legs while in his bed. “No matter what may have happened in the past, no matter what may end up happening in the future, Seirin is where I want to be, where I want to belong. If our walls are destroyed and our people are slaughtered, then we just need to rebuild our walls twice as thick and gather ten times more citizens to welcome and protect. If others come here with war in their thoughts and hate in their hearts, then I will fight them together with you… no matter who or what they are.”

 

“If you’re saying all of that because you think you owe us, then quit it,” said Kagami, his frown becoming even more noteworthy. “We’ve never seen you or the time we spent with you as something you would have to repay later on.”

 

“I’m not,” confessed Kuroko, his lips stretching to a gentle and joyful smile. “I love Seirin, I love our citizens, I love those who work with us here in the palace and I love you, Kagami-kun. I want to do all I can to protect those I love and care for. If someone comes knocking on our gates with the intention of destroying what I have, of course I would find the strength to fight for it. Because… those who truly love us will never make us cry. And those who do, don’t deserve our tears nor our love.”

 

“Ah, i-is that so…?” bashfully acknowledged Kagami, his cheeks lightly smeared in pink. He loudly cleared his throat and awkwardly stood up from the floor, scratching the back of his head as he turned his back to Kuroko and started walking towards the door. “I-I’m gonna go search for Hyuuga-san… You need to have your hair cut and the like…”

 

“You should just get in the bed and go to sleep, Kagami-kun,” sighed Kuroko, dropping his body back to the mattress with a muffled thud. “We can think about my hair when morning comes.”

 

“Argh!” yelped Kagami when his knee bumped into the corner of the table he was passing by, nearly making him tumble on the floor. “K-K-Kuroko, just what kind of things are you saying!? A-Anyway, this takes priority to that so I’ll go look for Hyuuga-san first and then we can think about other t-things…!”

 

The moment Kagami yanked the door open, a small group of people came stumbling down inside of the room.

 

“You sure were quick at finding Hyuuga-san,” deadpanned Kuroko, snuggling his body underneath the blankets at the same time he kept staring in the door’s direction.

 

“W-What the heck are you guys doing there…!?” roared Kagami, his face finally exploding into a scarlet shade.

 

“Ahahaha… Well, we were wondering how Kuroko-kun was feeling so…” awkwardly laughed Riko, averting looking at Kagami as she slowly got up from the floor. Hyuuga, Kiyoshi, Izuki, Koganei and Mitobe were doing the same. “But you two were talking so we didn’t want to interrupt you while you were… Um… You know…”

 

“I know, what!?” yelped Kagami, the red shade on his features darkening further and further. “J-Just what kind of sick fantasies are you creating in your head, Riko-san!? That incubus is becoming a bad influence on you!! Do you seriously think I’m someone who would lay with a brother!?”

 

“I see myself as more of a mother, rather than a sibling,” pointed out Kuroko, scooching his body in the bed. He then softly tapped the empty side of the bed with his hand a couple of times.

 

“Oh, I bet you do, the way you nag at me and try to lord me over!” hissed Kagami, though his blush didn’t fade away the slightest.

 

“And why would it be wrong if you did?” asked Kuroko, a slight tilt on his head as he stared at Kagami while laid down in the bed. “We’ve shared a bed countless times since we’ve met.”

 

“No…” intervened Izuki, a slightly disbelieving expression on his face. “Kuroko, we’re not referring to that kind of ‘lay’...”

 

“AAAARGH, SHUT UP ALREADY, ALL OF YOU!” roared Kagami, finally snapping. He lunged his hands forward and started to push all of his counsellors out of the room, clouds of steam threatening to escape from his ears. “Out! All of you, out! Except you, Hyuuga-san. You’ve got hair cutting duties once again! The rest of you, beat it before I force you to!!!”

  
_Kagami is more of an angel than Kuroko,_ inwardly laughed the group as they quickly ran off of the room, Kagami still chasing after them with a glorious blush spread all over his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	15. The Wheel of Fortune XV

Kuroko took a deep breath and forced his facial muscles to take a stance even more expressionless than usual. Once he exhaled the air he stored in his lungs for brief seconds, he slowly motioned his closed fist forward and knocked on the wooden door he was standing in front of.

 

“Your Highness, Mibuchi-sama, I apologise for the disturbance,” started Kuroko, a small part of him still feeling slightly hesitant. He couldn’t understand if it was due to feeling bad over having neglected his duty towards Akashi because of the previous night’s foolishness, or if there was some other unknown reason behind it. “My King and all of Seirin’s counsellors await for your presence in the throne room.”

 

A few seconds later, the door was open, first revealing Mibuchi in the same revealing attire of the previous day. Mibuchi threw a brief smile at Kuroko and stepped outside of the room, making way for the demon king to also exit their temporary chambers. Akashi, however, had upgraded his clothes to even more regal garments, ones that also housed the colour exclusive to demonic royalty: red and golden.

 

“It elates me to see that you have successfully regained your health after a good night of rest,” said Akashi, staring at Kuroko from his head down to his feet. A knowing smirk popped out in his lips. “Your vigour does not match very well with your impertinence, does it?”

 

“My apologies if I have become a source of concern to Your Highness,” deadpanned Kuroko, offering a quick bow to the demon king. “It seems I have quite a bit of trouble stomaching both food and drink while in the presence of demons. Do not take offence, however, for the fault lays solemnly in my person and lack of vigour.”

 

“Heh,” snorted Akashi, riping his heterochromatic eyes from Kuroko to stare at the corridor. Two guards had once again been positioned in it, who were attentively keeping their eyes on both him and Mibuchi, their hands tightly grabbing at the long spears they wielded as weapons. “Shall we put an end to this whole farce, then?”

 

“That is a wish that both Your Highness and Seirin’s court shares, yes,” acknowledged Kuroko, gesturing to both of the demons so they could start their short walk towards the throne room. He felt that Akashi was about to say something back at that retort but Kuroko quickly turned around on his heels and started walking through the corridor, guiding the guests to a destination they were all already familiar with. His heart was twisting and turning inside of his chest, however.

 

As they walked through the corridor, the two guards closely followed after them, as silently as the group aiming at the big saloon. In front of the colossal white coloured double door awaited them two more guards, also carrying spears in their hands. They offered a quick bow at Kuroko and opened the doors, spilling its insides to the eyes of the newcomers.

 

“What is the meaning of this?” readily asked Akashi, a deep frown appearing on his features as observed the throne room. He stepped inside the spacious area, even when greeted by countless spears and arrowheads pointed in their direction. “Grudging blagues are expected, but this certainly exceeds my expectations towards your answer. I would never have thought that it would be this direct.”

 

“I have warned you numerous times, Akashi-kun,” started Kuroko, throwing away his usual formalities with the demon king at the same time he parted from his side and walked towards Kagami and Seirin’s court - they all stood in front of the throne, all of them yielding weapons on them regardless of gender or status. “You underestimate humans far too much and that may come at a price that you do not wish to afford.”

 

“Human weapons? I will be able to afford such a gift, yes, but are you that willing to let me feast in your blood and guts?” asked Akashi, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “You offer me advice, you offer me your thoughts, but it all comes down to the blade of a sword in the end, does it not?”

 

“Hatred only births discord and violence, as I have told you yesterday,” pointed out Kuroko, halting his walking right in front of his king. “As a demon, you are able to perceive what goes inside of the hearts of mere humans. But you are unable to perceive what goes inside of yours and those of your kind.”

 

“If I seek to control your kind, then yes, but for other than that, being able to take a peek at your rotten insides is of no importance to my person,” said Akashi, a small frown once again creasing his brows. What exactly wanted Kuroko to get at with all of this talk?

 

“Have you been able to, though?” asked Kuroko, tilting his head softly to the left as he stared deep into the demon king’s heterochromatic eyes, his features as expressionless as usual.

 

“...!”

 

Akashi silently glanced at Mibuchi at the sound of that small gasp. He could see the same lost and panicky look in their eyes from the previous night as they discussed Mibuchi’s discoveries - or the lack of thereof, in that case.

 

“I warned you, Akashi-kun,” continued Kuroko after releasing a soft sigh. “I have warned you again and again, but your pride has muffled all of my words. Why would the demon king listen to the warnings of a feeble human? Such a preposterous thought! However, here we find ourselves… us, feeble humans, with the upper hand and you, demons, between the sword and the wall.”

 

“...” He had no idea how it had happened but, when Akashi noticed it, the large white doors had been closed behind his back. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Ahahaha! Do you think of me a cornered mouse? Kuroko, you should also remember my words. Human weapons are of no concern to me. What can a small group of humans yielding spears, arrows and swords do against a demon king of over 2,000 years of age? I wouldn’t even have to move from this very place to have your insides staining the pristine floor of this room.”

 

“Oh, but we do wish for you to move,” corrected Kuroko. He took a small, masked deep breath and once again took a step forward, slowly walking towards the demon king as he continued speaking. “We wish for you to turn around when we open those doors once again, walk the same corridor as yesterday, cross the same gates as yesterday and part ways with this kingdom to never come back.”

 

“You must be jest-”

 

“You are not welcomed here!” interrupted Kuroko, stopping right in front of Akashi. “You and those who share the same thoughts of conquering this world through blood and iron are not welcomed in these walls. My people will not become the sacrificial victims to quench your thirst for flames and ashes, nor will they be forced to take a stance against the ideals that will set this world into disarray a second time. Feel free to do whatever pleases you the most with what you own. Massacre your people, burn your fields and forests, destroy your houses and palaces. Your world is for you to control and toy around with. However, our world is our world and demons with a desire for self-destruction do not belong in it! Leave. You and those like you do not belong in my world! Leave this palace and be gone from my world, Akashi-kun!”

 

Time seemed to have slowed down. A second stretched forever and ever, seemingly lasting an entire lifetime… and then another and another. The painful sensation from the banquet and his nighttime returned to the insides of his chest. Pain and anger, sorrow and rage all fizzed inside of his stomach. Old wounds were forcefully opened and bled both blood and tears, turning happy memories into a blazing sword that made the festering gash even bigger. As for the bad ones… Was there even a way of turning a nightmare into something even worse? Was there a way of turning regret to an even deadlier poison?

 

_ Is this your answer, ———?, _ inwardly asked Akashi, his red and golden eyes never parting from Kuroko’s teal ones.  _ Is this the answer that you could never give me 500 years ago? _

 

“...” Akashi opened his mouth to speak but no words could be formed inside of his vocal cords. As such, all he did was turn around on his heels and walk towards the slowly opening doors.

 

“S-Sei-chan…!?” yelped Mibuchi, also quickly turning around to chase after their king. Unable to formulate more words or questions, they silently gaped their mouth open and close, throwing quick glances between Akashi and the impertinent human being left behind. If Mibuchi should really still call him a human, that is.

 

Kuroko simply stood in place, observing as Akashi and his attendant walked further and further away. One of his arms slowly stood and his hand motioned forward all on its own, but his feet were stuck to the ground and his voice had lost its strength after those last words.

 

“Are you okay, Kuroko?” asked Kagami, stopping behind the bluenette. He motioned his hand towards him and gently covered Kuroko’s eyes with it, warm tears tickling his palm as they slid down those pale cheeks.

 

“Y-Yes,” answered Kuroko, a sob getting stuck inside of his throat.

 

“Will they just silently leave?” asked Kagami once again, a glare on his eyes as he closely observed the white doors closing a third time.

 

“Of course not,” murmured Kuroko in nothing more than a whisper. “Not after the way I wounded him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
> [Tumblr](http://mafymod.tumblr.com/)  
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> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	16. The Wheel of Fortune XVI

“Sei-chan…! Sei-chan, I’m talking with you!” called Mibuchi, again and again, as they hastily followed after Akashi. In a bolt of annoyance, they lunged their hand forward and grabbed onto the redhead’s arm, halting their walking movement and forcing Akashi to follow along. “Sei-chan, what’s going on!? Why are you just leaving like that human told yo-”

 

“Leave?” interrupted Akashi, turning his body slightly around so he could look at Mibuchi. A deep, angry frown twisted his features, his heterochromatic eyes burning in anger and frustration. “I am not leaving. I’m stepping outside of these walls so I can flatten them out underneath my feet. If you wish to remain here, do so but your death would not stop me from destroying these miserable creatures and the land they claim as their own.”

 

“...!” A shudder ran down Mibuchi’s spin when their eyes met with Akashi’s wrath. With trembling fingers, they softly released the redhead’s arm and took a shaky step backwards. They bowed. “M-My apologies, My King. Please forgive your servant’s foolishness. How would you like me to assist you?”

 

“The best assistance you can provide me is to remain quiet and not get in my way,” barked Akashi, immediately turning around on his heels once again and continue to stomp out of the palace.

 

Once they reached the closed front doors of the palace, a simple glance with his mismatched eyes was all it took for the massive, heavy doors to open with a crash. Wood was slammed against stone and small pieces of the metallic hinges clattered on the floor. The iron gate that divided the royal road from the town’s main one soon followed, raising a cloud of dirt and dust with it.

 

With the sudden loud noises, several citizens of the Kingdom of Seirin came out of their stores and houses to take a look at what was happening. It was to be expected as humans had always been curious creatures. However, Akashi had expected to hear shrieks and gasps from the humans, who were now in the presence of two demons from nowhere.

 

How wrong he was.

 

“I told you…” softly mumbled Mibuchi, trying to not arouse Akashi’s anger towards them once again. “The humans in this kingdom are weird, Sei-chan… They’re… not normal humans.”

 

Staring eyes, one after another, started appearing throughout the street as Akashi and Mibuchi majestically walked towards the entrance gate of the Kingdom of Seirin. Small children, young men and women, working adults, elders - all of its citizens were slowly coming to the streets to watch as the Demon King and his servant abandoned their land. There was no screams or frightened mumbles, no gasps or children crying. They all just stared in silence, their eyes a mixture of anger and pity.

 

_ Anger can be easily explained by our bloodied history, but where does the pity come from?, _ inwardly wondered Akashi, his eyes lightly skirting through the citizen’s facial expressions as he passed by them.  _ Why is there no fear? Why is there no hatred? _

 

Akashi felt as if he was walking through a path of shame and accusation instead of some streets built by humans. The silence was a sword that cut his excuses and defensive arguments in half. Those piercing eyes were arrows that perforated his body and accused him of all of his sins. Their lack of response was a spear that stabbed into his brain and made him feel below the level of a pebble on the side of a road. Indifference truly was harsher and heavier than violence.

 

Seirin, however, was not a large kingdom and Akashi’s walk of shame soon arrived at its end once the large entrance gates came into view. Upon his approach, several soldiers stationed in front of the gate started removing the long, thick block of wood that kept it fully sealed throughout the night time. Even those soldier cast him glances filled with disdain as Akashi and Mibuchi silently crossed the open gate and stepped on the territory outside of Seirin’s tall walls.

 

“Kuroko got to be the star of the show but I have some words to give you myself,” said a voice out of nowhere. When Akashi turned slightly around to glance over his shoulder, he found Kagami standing right in the middle of the gate. “If you think Seirin will fall because you want it to fall, you’re going to have the disappointment of your 2,000-year-old life, you demonic spawn. But you’re as dumb as all the demons and other motherfuckers out there so I’ll put it in a way that even you’ll be able to understand. We, humans, have the ability to learn and develop ourselves, unlike you one-trick ponies. And we’ve learned loads these last 500 years. If any of you steps inside of my walls… you’ll be all purged to the last one. That’s my and Kuroko’s last warning.”

 

_ Stay away from Tetsuya for the rest of your days… or I swear, in his name, that I’ll be the one sending you back to the Hell you crawled from, _ inwardly added Kagami as he turned around on his heels, his red and black mantle fluttering behind him as he walked back inside, closely followed by the soldiers that had been keeping guard on the gate.

 

“Heh… Hehehehe…” started laughing Akashi, his shoulders shaking just the slightest as he tried to keep himself under control. It was a useless attempt, however. “Ahahahahahahaha!  _ Who do you think you’re talking to? _ ”

 

Slowly, but with an increasingly faster pace, Akashi’s shadow widened in size, turning to black the ground, grass and trees that surrounded him. The wind picked up and started bringing dark clouds from distant lands, dying the bright blue sky with grey and thundering rain. Even the sun ran away and hid underneath a large, dark cloud at the arrival of the Demon King’s fury.

 

The temperature dropped all around the Kingdom of Seirin but Akashi’s surroundings were an intense blaze as the black became a fiery red hole in the new world. Deformed hands and sharp claws, putrid breathes and pitched shrieks - demons and creatures of all lineages came to join the Demon King’s rage and feast on the banquet that was to commence at his orders.

  
“ _ By blood and iron it shall be, then, _ ” said Akashi, motioning his hand forward and commanding his own to pillage and massacre, kill and destroy what was before him. “ _ Slay them all! Leave only those of the palace and the young children behind. Those creatures I shall butcher to pieces myself before his eyes. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	17. The Wheel of Fortune XVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can now read the chapters before anyone else (aka ahead of schedule) through my Ko-fi [here](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4) .

“Akashi has summoned his minions, as predicted,” announced Koganei, taking a couple of deep breaths after having run all the way from the top of the walls near the main gate to the town centre where most of Seirin’s citizens had been gathered. “And he’s about to give them a nice human feast that goes by the name of ‘Kingdom of Seirin’.”

 

“At least we can’t complain about him being unpredictable,” snorted Hyuuga, taking an arrow from the leather pouch strapped to his back and positioning it on the bow. He raised it high above their heads and shot the arrow, which exploded in a small red cloud in the sky short moments afterwards. “We may be a bit sleep deprived here but we’ve completed all of the preparations we were left in charge of. What’s next, Kagami?”

 

“Kicking some demon ass, obviously,” said Kagami, removing his sword from its scabbard and stabbing it deep onto the dusty floor. He smirked. “Was there any plan other than that one that I didn’t get to hear?”

 

“Geez, you sure are thickheaded, Bakagami,” sighed Riko, lightly shaking her head in disapproval. “Hyuuga was asking you to act like a king and general and give your motivational speech in front of those that will be fighting for you and your ideals. ‘Kicking some demon ass’ isn’t very motivating, you know? Also, we’re in the presence of children so control your potty mouth!”

 

“Whatever,” dismissed Kagami with a roll of his eyes. He suddenly lifted one of his hands and pointed to the person standing next to him. “Besides, this plan wasn’t created by me. I just agreed to it because  _ I _ get to kick some demon ass. If you want someone to do a motivational speech, ask Kuroko to do it.”

 

“Eh?” interjected Kuroko, suddenly waking up from his own thoughts at that last sentence that came out of Kagami’s mouth. “Kagami-kun, you are the king of Seirin. I’m nothing but someone who lives in the same building as you. It’s above my status to give a motivational speech to your citizens. Please stop acting like a baby and do your job as you should.”

 

“Yeah?” said Kagami, his knowing smirk growing even more noteworthy. “Who designed the plan? You. Who designed the attack and defence strategy that Seirin uses? You and Riko. Who enabled such attack and defence strategy to be usable by humans? You. Last but not least… who is the one who can put the attack and defence strategy operational? You. Am I forgetting anything?”

 

“No, you said it all, Kagami,” acknowledged Riko, giving an affirmative nod at the redhead. “Besides, if Kagami gave a speech in the heat of the moment, I’m sure he would only say a bundle of nonsense that no one would really understand. You’re better with words that this idiot of a king so if you please could give the speech, you’d be taking off a huge, massive embarrassment off of Kagami’s back, Kuroko-kun.”

 

“I’ll have to agree with Riko on this one…” said Kiyoshi, awkwardly smiling at Kagami at the same time as he gave a small slap to the redhead’s back. The other members of the court also awkwardly nodded their heads in agreement, to Kagami's chagrin. “Not to mention, you were the one who spoke with Akashi earlier in the throne room. It goes without saying that you should be the one speaking now too.”

 

“...” Kuroko silently observed all of the court members for brief seconds and then released a small sigh. “I may be gifted with words but not so much when it comes to talking to a crowd. Please don’t complain if some of our citizens don’t get to hear my words.”

 

So as to facilitate his public discourse and help him carry his soft voice into further distances, Kuroko entered inside of one of the nearby houses and climbed to the second floor. He opened one of the windows and leisurely sat down on the windowsill, his face as blank and expressionless as usual.

 

“Um… Humans have always been the bottom of the ladder of this world,” started Kuroko with a certain hesitation, his teal eyes carefully observing all of those that were standing in the town centre. “We’re frail enough to be susceptible to diseases. Our lives are relatively short when compared to the other beings that cohabit this world with us. We do not possess the ability to summon beasts or use magic in times of despair. Of course we’re looked down by those who are stronger than us. But being weak does not mean that we should be kicked by those stronger. Being weak does not mean that we have to obey unconditionally those stronger. Being weak does not mean that we cannot take a stance for ourselves and fight against those stronger. It’s because we are weak that we should fight against those who are above us and are pushing us down to the brink of extinction, that taint us with the label of slaves and slaughter us as a way of entertainment. We may be weak… but will that stop us? Will that led us to say ‘yes’ to their abuse and unfounded hatred? Will it make us  _ feel _ weak? No! A ladder is something meant to climb. We’re the bottom right now but there’s nothing but our own weakness keeping us there. So shall we take our first step higher and kick some demon ass, as our King has proposed?”

 

“Hell yeah, let’s kick some demon ass!” loudly roared Kagami in the midst of a thousand more.

 

“That was a lousy pun, Kagami,” pointed out Izuki, shaking his head in disapproval beside the redhead. A sudden hit to the back of his head made him loudly yelp afterwards, though. “OUCH!”

 

“You’re the last person who can say that,” scoffed Hyuuga, rolling his eyes around. He quickly cleared his throat and then spoke to those around him. “Several of our soldiers and citizens are already in position and have been warned about the incoming demon attack by my arrow. Let’s all do the same now that we’re burning for some demon chops and ribs, quoting our king once again.”

 

“I don’t think demons are eatable, though,” pointed out Furihata in the form of a sigh. He was about to start running towards his strategical position in the attack and defence plan when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder. “Yes, Kagami-kun?”

 

“I know you have your own place to be but could you…” started Kagami with a certain hesitation, his free hand softly massaging the back of his neck. “I mean, you’re close by to where Kuroko will be so… If you could keep an eye out of him… We’re dealing with Akashi and all so… Just to play safe, I guess?”

 

“Yes, sure!” readily acknowledged Furihata, a grin on his lips as he bumped his closed fist against his chest. “I’ll keep an eye on Kuroko-kun. Though I think you should worry more about yourself than Kuroko-kun, to be honest. He’s the one who has the best defence against demonkind and the other kinds out of everyone here. You know that better than anyone else, Kagami-kun.”

 

“I-I said just to play safe, didn’t I…!?” yelped Kagami, his cheeks smeared in red as he awkwardly turned around on his heels and started stomping away to his own position.

 

“Did something happen, Furihata-kun?” inquired Kuroko, who popped out next to the brunette out of the blue. He kept Kagami under his gaze for brief seconds until he disappeared in the midst of the crowd and then switched it back to Furihata.

 

“No, just his usual contradictions between being a doting father and a spoiled, rule-breaking son,” said Furihata with a quick shrug of his shoulders. He gave a reassuring smile. “He’s fine, don’t worry. I’ll be close by to where you’ll be this time around but, nevertheless… I’ll be counting on you, Kuroko-kun.”

 

“Yes, me too, Furihata-kun,” acknowledged Kuroko, a small smile also tugging at the corner of his lips. When Furihata also ran off to reach his own position, he waved back at him with the same smile still on his face. However, as soon as he found himself completely alone in the previously packed town centre, he couldn’t help but let his face return to a saddened semblance. He sighed and put the hoodie attached to his coak above his head. “Well, it really is no use thinking about it now, is there?”

 

With footsteps as silent as a ghost, Kuroko skirted through the shadows of the buildings as he hurried to the position that was always given to him. He knew that no one else was able to take that position but it still annoyed him how it just had to be inside of the palace grounds. It made him feel as if he was being put in the safest location of the kingdom while everyone else, the king himself included, was left to face the dangers of fighting against the other kinds.

 

The palace was considerably close to the town centre and, hence, in a matter of minutes, Kuroko had climbed to one of the palace’s towers. With no walls or roof above the floor, the top location of the tower enabled a perfectly clear vision of the entirety of Seirin’s territory - from all corners and hidden streets in between buildings to the walls fully circling the kingdom.

 

It went without saying that such a clear view enabled Kuroko to perfectly follow Akashi’s first attack as the demon orde came crashing against the thick outside walls and started penetrating inside of Seirin. They had left the gate wide open so it went without saying that they would just invite themselves in through it.

 

“You truly underestimate us, Your Highness,” sighed Kuroko, lightly touching with his fingertips the short wall around the edge of the tower. For as soft and gentle the touch might have been, black lines surfaced on the stone surface, nearly invisible at first in the midst of the poor illumination provided by the cloudy, rainy sky. When a sudden lightening cut through the clouds, the entirety of Seirin’s buildings was covered in black lines. Scribbles to the eyes of those from the outside - the greatest weapon developed since the dawn of that world to humankind. “You may step inside… but only those who earn the respect of humankind will be able to leave our world. Throughout your short stay here… have you earned that respect… Akashi-kun?”

 

Another lightning struck the sky, illuminating all around him. When the light faded away, what was left behind was shadows. Shadows and two glowing teal eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	18. The Wheel of Fortune XVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can now read the chapters before anyone else (aka ahead of schedule) through my Ko-fi [here](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4) .

“Okay, guys, now it’s time we show Kuroko-kun how much you’ve grown up,” said Koganei, a cat-like smile on his features as he crouched down in front of a group of young children. Mitobe silently stood behind him. “Are you ready to play some hide-and-seek with demons?”

 

“Yesh!” yelled the children in unison, large smiles also occupying their faces as they raised their hands up in the air.

 

“The demons are about to arrive in the market area so be sure to always remember the rules of our hide-and-seek games,” continued Koganei, straightening his body to a standing position and glancing over to Mitobe, who softly nodded at him. “Can you all tell me which are the rules?”

 

“If we see a demon, we have to run as fast as we can to the houses,” recited the children in nearly perfect unison. “And we can’t cry. We have to laugh very loud because demons really, really hate happy children!”

 

“My students are super smart, aren’t they, Mitobe?” said Koganei, his voice trembling just the slightest as that group of small children filled his heart with pride. Mitobe happily smiled at Koganei as an answer. He gave a quick sniff and brightly smiled at the children once again. “Okay, ready?”

 

The group of children gave a decisive nod with their heads.

 

“On the count of three, then,” announced Koganei, taking a long, sharp dagger from inside of his long boots and positioning himself in front of the children. When the loud rumbling of dozens of heavy footsteps reached their ears, Mitobe picked up the handle of a heavy war hammer and started dragging it against the floor, also putting himself in front of the children. “Three… Two… One and a half… One… GO!”

 

In a sudden outburst of loud laughter, the group of children darted running in every single direction at the same time as a large horde of goblins appeared in the opposite end of the merchant street, mercilessly crushing the wooden stands as they ran towards the human preys.

 

“Up we go!” With a single movement, Koganei jumped high and swiftly landed on top of the wooden roof of one of the merchant stalls. His body seemed as light and flexible as that of an experienced cat as he continued to jump from stall to stall so as to meet with the goblin army. When one of the green creatures decided to follow after him and started climbing one of the poles of the stand, Koganei readily stabbed the long dagger in the middle of the goblin’s distorted features.

 

_ “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” _ , screeched the goblin in pain, his body exploding into small bits of green flesh and gooey dark green blood shortly after.

 

“Well, that’s one down, I guess,” cheerfully said Koganei, nodding his head in acknowledgement at his own success. He glanced over at Mitobe and saw him lifting his war hammer high above his head, letting it drop on top of three goblins and crushing them underneath its heavy iron head. “Way to go, Mitobe! I’ll go see how the kids are doing so keep on hammering those ugly shorties down!”

 

Koganei didn’t obtain any answer from Mitobe, but the way he raised his war hammer and readily motioned towards the closest globins said more than words could ever.

 

With a short run to gain balance, Koganei once again jumped high, grabbing with his hands a thick wooden beam placed in between two of the houses. Using the momentum of the short run, he spun his body on the beam and landed on the roof of the house. He kept on running through the roofs of the houses, successfully jumping over the small streets placed in between all the buildings at the same time he kept his eyes on what was going around down on the ground.

 

“Time for me to also join the hide-and-seek play~,” said Koganei with a sing-song voice, his cat-like lips stretching to a knowing smirk. He jumped once again above a street but shortened the jump this time around, only enough for his body start to fall down towards the ground rather than the roof of the following building. With nearly mechanic movements, he returned his long dagger to the comfortable insides of his boot and grabbed the rooftop’s sill. Then he swiftly jumped around between the two parallel walls so as to reach ground level once again. When he came out of the side street, he popped his head inside of one of the houses and happily grinned at the three children hiding inside, “Can I play with you too?”

 

“Ahahaha! Let’s play!” answered the children, loudly laughing as they darted outside of the house and onto the street once again.

 

Koganei ran through the streets together with the children, lowering his speed so he could accompany them. He every now and then peeked over his shoulder to see if they were being followed and, the moment green blurs appeared in his field of view, his grin widened even further.

 

“Shall we show these goblins that funny trick of ours?” asked Koganei, coming to a sudden halt in front of the children. He quickly lowered his body and opened his arms wide so as to prevent any of the small children from falling on the floor as they also put a stop to their running. He winked at them. “Let’s laugh really hard and put those ugly things screaming in annoyance.”

 

Koganei allowed the goblins to grow closer and closer to where he and the children were quietly standing at, the three younglings still chuckling in between themselves as they amusingly looked at the creatures.

 

“And… go!” yelled Koganei as soon as the goblins were only a breath away from them.

 

He and the three children all ran in opposite directions, forcing the goblins to also divide their group in four to follow after all of them at the same time. However, neither Koganei nor the children ran towards the closest door so as to hide in the insides of the houses. They simply ran towards the closest wall.

 

The moment Koganei’s body was going to crash against the wall, the black scribbles written in its surface started to shine. One second they were about to bump on the wall, the other Koganei and the three children were nowhere to be seen. When the goblins attempted to obtain the same feat out of the glowing wall, they were greeted by intense pain.

 

_ “Hiiiiiiiiiiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!” _ screeched the goblins all at the same time, the light turning into flames that devoured their green flesh, their dark green gooey blood and organs, their white bones - once the flames went out all on their own, there was nothing of the goblins left behind.

 

“Are these ones all gone~?” asked Koganei to no one in particular, popping his head out through the wall as if it was nothing more than an illusion. It wasn’t, however. His body was truly trespassing a solid wall made of stone and mortar. It also went without saying that he wasn’t a ghost without a physical body. He and all of Seirin’s citizens were nothing more than humans - humans with a thirst for knowledge and survival. “Alright, way to go, humans!”

 

With that cry of joy, both Koganei and the three children fully exited the buildings through the glowing walls. The children happily ran towards Koganei and grabbed onto his legs, cheerfully giggling and grinning at one another. A smile on his face, Koganei ruffled the head of all three of them.

 

“Let’s get going, guys,” said Koganei, picking up the smallest of the three children from the floor and holding him against his chest. “There’s still plenty of green shorties running around in our market. If they’re not going to buy anything from your parents, then we might as well ‘seek’ all of them out of Seirin. Right~?”

 

“Right~?” repeated the children with the exact same satisfied voice as Koganei. “Let’s catch all of the green shorties and then play with Kuroko-chama~”

 

“If you play hide-and-seek with Kuroko-kun, he’s going to win, you know?” pointed out Koganei, softly chuckling as he lowered the child to the ground once again.

 

_ But for that, we need to win this hide-and-seek first. For humankind… for Tetsuya-sama. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	19. The Wheel of Fortune XIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can now read the chapters before anyone else (aka ahead of schedule) through my Ko-fi [here](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4) .

“And down comes the rain…” breathed Kiyoshi in the form of a sigh. He lifted one of his hands and stretched his fingers, feeling as the cold droplets hit his warm skin. He grinned. “I guess our farmers won’t have to worry about watering the crops today.”

 

“We’ll be lucky if we still have any crops by the end of today,” pointed out Hyuuga, rolling his eyes around at how relaxed Kiyoshi was, taking the current circumstances into account. He took another arrow from his leather pouch and placed it in the bow, carefully adjusting it to the string. “Izuki, where to next?”

 

“Southwest, 357 meters from our position,” said Izuki, his eyes carefully observing the black scribbles flashing on and off in the stone wall on his left. “About… hm… These next ones will be troublesome, Hyuuga.”

 

“What are they?” asked Hyuuga, a deep frown creasing his features as he lowered his bow once again. He took a quick glance around him and nodded his head, giving permission for all the other marksmen to lower their weapons.

 

“According to Kuroko, it’s a group of 50 hellhounds,” explained Izuki, double-checking what was written in the stone wall. “One bark of those doggies and our souls will be devoured to the pits of Hell. We need to finish them off before they get close enough to be heard by any of us. Even if they don’t bark on us, their fangs and claws will definitely do the deed. But if it makes you feel better, it seems Akashi was kind enough to not summon Cerberus together with them.”

 

“You call 50 hellhounds kindness?” scoffed Hyuuga, staring in disbelief at Izuki. “Never mind his kindness or lack of thereof, how do we finish off those mutts?”

 

“We should make a net,” suggested Kiyoshi, his relaxed expression slipping slightly out of his face. “I remember Riko mentioning hellhounds some time ago. They are very fast and strong, and they can momentarily shapeshift to be able to infiltrate any sort of space while hunting for their victims, no matter how small the crack is.”

 

“And a net will help how?” asked Izuki, an eyebrow arched in his brows as he stared at Kiyoshi. “Nets are filled with holes that the hellhounds can slip through with their shapeshifting ability.”

 

“Yes, but if it’s a net made up of arrowheads being shot from a 360º angle, they won’t have much room to run to,” explained Kiyoshi. The corner of his lips arched a fraction in mischief as he pointed with his index finger to the sky. “Their only escape route will be back down to Hell or up in the sky. Do you really think they will run off with their tails in between their legs when it was their Demon King who summoned them?”

 

“Flying dogs will certainly be easier targets than pheasants,” acknowledge Hyuuga, a knowing smirk also popping out on his lips. “Izuki, spread the message towards the other marksmen teams and have them ready to shot all at the same time.”

 

“I’m on it,” said Izuki, readily picking up a small piece of parchment and feather so as to write down the instructions. As soon as the words had all been added to the parchment, he readily slipped the paper inside of the wall. The black scribbles momentarily shone and then faded away completely.

 

“Okay, guys, let’s wipe one more group from inside of our walls!” announced Hyuuga, once again positioning his arrow on his bow and stretching the string to its very limit. The other soldiers on either side of him readily did the same, all of them closely staring towards the same direction. “Izuki, countdown!”

 

“They’ll be reaching 150 meters from this location in 4… 3… 2… 1…!” said Izuki, once again observing the scribbles that had resurfaced on the stone wall. “Now!”

 

At Izuki’s cry, dozens of strings vibrated in unison and arrows speeded away from the marksmen. The walls of the buildings around them shone as the scribbles swallowed the arrows and made them disappear mid-flight. Even if they didn’t witness it in person, all of them knew that the arrows would reappear all around the hellhound pack, with triple the speed and with the blessings of the gods.

 

“What were the results…?” inquired Hyuuga, his hand already hovering above his leather pouch to grab onto his next arrow, if it came into need.

 

“There’s…” started Izuki, swallowing in dry. “Three surviving hellhounds and they are running as fast as our arrows towards here as we speak.”

 

“Time for me to step in, then,” announced Kiyoshi, happily grinning at his companions as he walked towards the edge of the balcony. He placed his hand on the short wall and jumped over it. “Down I go.”

 

Kiyoshi swiftly landed on the floor, readily removing his sword from its scabbard. The scrapping of long claws against the dirty floor was already reaching his ears so it would be a matter of seconds before the surviving hellhounds were to reach their location.

 

“Get them before they can open their mouths, Kiyoshi!” reminded Izuki, peeking downwards from the balcony. “They can’t carry a tune in a bucket. They’re totally tone  _ dead _ .”

 

“We should also start getting you before you open your mouth…” groaned Hyuuga, taking an arrow from his leather pocket and swinging it at Izuki. Obviously not with the intention of killing him since all Hyuuga needed to do was get that arrow in his bow and Izuki would be done for.

 

“Ahaha. I know, I know,” said Kiyoshi, throwing a quick smile upwards before he started walking towards one of the connecting streets to that surveillance tower. The scratching claws became closer to him and the stench of death was now also assaulting his nostrils.

 

In the blink of an eye, Kiyoshi had three monstrous dogs in front of him, their eyes blood red and black fur as thick and messy as that of steel wool. He could see their sharp fangs inside of their growling mouths, cloggy drool leaking from in between them.

 

“You know, I quite like dogs,” sighed Kiyoshi, placing his sword in front of him in a defensive stance. “Can’t you just turn around and return to where you came from? My body is too muscly to be savoury and my soul wouldn’t make much good to Hell either. So how is it going to be?”

 

The hellhounds continued growling menacingly, taking slow, predatory steps closer to the unmoving human. However, the moment one of them opened its mouth wide so as to voice its answer, a sword was swiftly pushed down the hellhound’s throat, causing the beast to growl in pain this time around.

 

Kiyoshi quickly removed the sword from inside of the hellhound and swung it down, severing its head with a clean cut. The other two beasts didn’t stay still for too long after witnessing the death of one more of their own and readily attacked the human. One of them jumped at Kiyoshi, its mouth wide open to rip his arm from the torso, but a step back made the hellhound jump against air. The sword met with black fur and flesh once again, cutting a large gash through the beast’s stomach area. The other hellhound circled around Kiyoshi, positioning itself behind the human before launching its attack. Once again, Kiyoshi rotated his body around, causing the monstrous dog’s mouth to come crashing against the blade of his sword rather than his flesh. He swung his sword and the beast came crashing against a pile of wooden crates.

 

“I gave you the choice of leaving unharmed and you refused,” said Kiyoshi, putting himself in a defensive position yet again as the hellhounds readied themselves for the next attack. Slowly, with eyes never parting with the red ones of the beasts, Kiyoshi took several steps back until he reached the base of the surveillance tower. “I really doubt that your Master would ever allow you such a treat.”

 

All of a sudden, Kiyoshi dropped his sword on the ground and slammed his large hand against the stone wall. Half a second later, the wall of one of the surrounding buildings stretched forward and came crashing against the two hellhounds. It only stopped stretching when its end met with the opposing building, crushing the beasts in between their stones.

 

A new building now stood before the surveillance tower.

 

The mapping of the entirety of the Kingdom of Seirin had been redesigned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	20. The Wheel of Fortune XX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can now read the chapters before anyone else (aka ahead of schedule) through my Ko-fi [here](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4) .

“AHHHHHH!” roared Kagami as he stabbed his sword deep into the chest of a Cherufe, a large human-shaped creature whose body was made of hard, black rock and scorching magma. The creature at first didn’t as much as flinch at the prickling sensation of the human weapon, but as it felt the sword penetrate deeper inside of its body without melting or shattering, the Cherufe’s sneer soon turned into acute screeches of pain. “Go back to Hell!”

 

With a strong yank, Kagami cut the creature’s torso in half vertically, the momentum of the sword only stopping when its blade got stuck on the ground. The Cherufe’s body crumbled into small bits of black rock, the previously red hot magma quickly solidifying and turning into ashes.

 

“Ugh, how many of these guys are still missing?” asked Kagami, unburying the sword from the ground and turning around so as to look at Riko, who was leisurely standing a few meters behind.

 

“According to Kuroko-kun, there’s not that many left,” said Riko, taking a quick peek to one of the closest walls. “Because Teppei changed Seirin’s structure, most of the Cherufes were diverted to the river area. Our Kuroko-kun sure knows how to play his cards nicely. Which is why we’re currently in direct route towards Garmr.”

 

“Garmr? What the fuck is that supposed to be?” asked Kagami, quickly wiping the rainwater from his face with the help of his sleeve.

 

“A distant relative of Cerberus, I guess,” explained Riko while giving a quick shrug with her shoulders. “A guard dog of some sort, of a higher level than the Hellhounds that Hyuuga and the gang have eliminated some moments ago. It’s said that Garmr is not as big and monstrous as Cerberus, but holds the same amount of power. So let’s call it Cerberus’ younger brother.”

 

“Making it sound cute doesn’t really change the fact that this Garmr can be put in the same sack as the ones Kuroko has warned us to be careful of!” grumbled Kagami, rolling his eyes around at the brunette’s words. He sighed. “So? How do I kill this thing?”

 

“Um… Chop it to bits?” suggested Riko, averting looking straight to Kagami due to lack of answers to that question. When all she got was silence, she awkwardly added, “I-I’m sure Kuroko-kun will give you some backup! And you also have me looking after your back.”

 

“I’m no longer sure if that’s supposed to be reassuring or not…” mumbled Kagami under his breath, turning his body around towards the street where the dog-like creature was supposed to come from.

 

“Oh, just shut up and kill the thing!” fussed Riko, crossing her arms over her chest with slightly pouting motions. “The quicker you do it, the faster you can return to your beloved’s side.”

 

“D-Don’t call him “my beloved”...!!” yelped Kagami, quickly whipping his head around so as to glare at Riko. His face was as scarlet as the colour of his hair. “Didn’t I tell you to stop with your delusional fantasies about me and Kuroko!?”

 

“I’ll stop if you stop,” sneakered Riko, a mischievous smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. She noticed that Kagami was about to throw one more roar at her and swiftly interrupted him, her voice resounding at the same time as a loud, powerful bark. “Look, your doggy is here. Go and get it, My King.”

 

“Ugh, I so hate dogs,” grumbled Kagami as he hesitantly faced forward once again. Demons, rock monsters and the most disgusting of slimes didn’t scare him or faze him in the least - but dog-shaped creatures were a completely different story. If anything, they were his Achilles’ heel. He observed as the large dog slowly walked towards him, it’s white fangs showing as it released its putrid breath. He whispered, “I’m sure counting on your help with this one, Kuroko…”

 

The dog-shaped creature carefully circled around Kagami, its dark, beady eyes locked in the human’s red ones. A terrifying growling sound could be heard coming out of its throat and, every now and then, its white, sharp fangs became even more visible as intimidation. Kagami was sure that the Garmr was able to smell his fear, was able to see that the human didn’t want to be in its presence and be reminded of past traumas.

 

But Kagami was no longer a small, helpless child - he was now the King of his own country, with subjects needing his support and protection, with friends that supported and protected him.

 

That and a guardian angel that always came to their rescue in times of need.

 

When Kagami began a quick run towards the creature, his sword placed in front of his torso in an attacking position, the thunders echoing in the sky became much louder, the lightning much brighter. The grey sky was split into several pieces as if a glass panel being shattered by a hammer when a flash of gigantic web-like lightning covered its entirety. The thunder that followed had been as loud as if the moon had come crashing against the tallest mountain, a roar that certainly could be heard a thousand miles away.

 

The exact moment the point of Kagami’s sword touched the Garmr’s head, lightning rained all around them. The dog-shaped creature burst into light blue flames, which spread to the ground, the walls and roofs of the buildings, to Riko and to Kagami. The demonic servant was the only one who the flames devoured, however.

 

“I guess we’ve all finished our warming up, Kuroko included,” snorted Kagami, leaning the blade on his shoulder as he looked at the palace’s tower. The entirety of his surroundings - the entirety of Seirin - was being bathed in light blue flames, burning all which did not belong into nothingness. He sighed, “I know I said I was counting on your help but I didn’t ask you to kill him for me, you dumbass!”

 

Both Kagami and Riko could have sworn that the crackling of the flames had become a soft chuckle for no more than a fraction of a second.

 

“The battle is over,” declared Riko, walking over to near Kagami, her eyes also stuck to the palace’s tower. “Will Akashi give up and return to his own kingdom... or will he turn this one battle into an even bloodier war?”

 

“I have to confess,” said Kagami, a deep frown creasing his brows. “If the demonic spawn gives up and crawls back to his hellish hole, I’ll be really disappointed. His deeds, evil or good, follow him everywhere. If he runs with his demon tail between his legs, then those deeds may very well be nothing more than fear-induced rumours. If he remains and declares war, then he’ll be fighting the entire human race at the peak of its upgrades. Hehehe…”

 

A shudder ran down Riko’s spine when she saw Kagami’s expression. Not a frown, not deep hatred - it was pure desire for destruction and annihilation.

 

“I can’t wait to put Akashi’s head in a spike and offer it as a tribute to Tetsuya,” said Kagami, a knowing smirk on his lips as those words slipped out of his mouth as if second nature to him.

 

“U-Um… Kagami…? Are you feeling o-” hesitantly asked Riko, but a loud explosion partially crushed her words.

 

The east side of the palace, the tall tower included, came crumbling down in a dense cloud of dust and debris. The light blue fire kept on burning all around them but the black scribbles on the walls faded away completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	21. The Wheel of Fortune XXI

“T-This is impossible…!” gasped Mibuchi, covering their mouth with both hands as they stared completely flabbergasted at what was happening within Seirin’s walls from a higher position in midair. “Magic… They’re usually magic… Humans can’t use magic!!!”

 

“Reo, go,” shortly commanded Akashi, taking a sideways glance at the shocked incubus. “Return to Rakuzan and share what you have witnessed with Eikichi, Koutarou and Chihiro. Have them warn the kings of Kaijou, Shuutoku, Touou and Yosen, together with a personal message from me.”

 

“B-But-”

 

“I’ll destroy Seirin’s foundations, feel free to wreck the rest of humankind in whichever way pleases you the most,” continued Akashi, completely ignoring Mibuchi’s attempts at speaking up their mind. “Leave Seirin for last, for I wish them to witness the extinction that their blasphemy has caused. Oh, and come pay a visit to Rakuzan to discuss future events whenever you find the time. I’ll be sure to show you a very nostalgic sight. That’s my message to the five of them. Now go!”

 

“...Yes, My King…” reluctantly acknowledged Mibuchi, bowing down at the demon king of Rakuzan. They turned around and started floating further away from Akashi and Seirin, suddenly disappearing in a flash of black light.

 

Minute after minute passed with Akashi in deep silence, simply staring to the inside of Seirin’s walls and observing as his servants were slaughtered one after another by the humans. Even the inoffensive small children participated in the killing in their own way.

 

“How dare you…” whispered Akashi, black wings sprouting out of his shoulder blades as a deafening thunder resounded against his eardrums, following a massive web of lightning that nearly seemed to be giving a new set of wings to the being on top of the palace’s tower. “ _ How dare you deceive me for 500 years, ---!! _ ”

 

As if an arrow shot by a powerful bow, Akashi flew towards the palace with enough speed to make him resemble a momentary blur in the dark grey sky. He swiftly evaded the lightning that continued to rain down and turned his servants to nothing more than piles of ashes and dust. He could feel the light blue flames licking at his body, but after living in the deepest parts of Hell for so many centuries, they were only strong enough to warm up his cold hands.

 

“---!” Akashi could feel the word exiting his mouth, but it carried no sound, it carried no meaning. The name they had banished from the new world still remained in the world of the dead, in whichever section gods inhabited after being purged from that which they had created. However, the owner of the name, the creator of the new world, was right before his eyes, right there, at the reach of his hand.

 

“...!” At the sudden intrusion of Akashi in Seirin’s territory, Kuroko hastily turned around to look in the direction where he was coming from. In a matter of seconds, his body withdrew inside of the tower’s floor, appearing once again in the base of the palace. Good things he did, for the tower and the entire east side of the palace was obliterated in a huge explosion as Akashi came crashing down against that portion of the massive stone building.

 

Gulping down hard in dry, Kuroko started running off of that area, intending on moving for grounds further away that would provide him with a better defence against the demon king’s attacks. However, a powerful grip took hold of the back of his cloak, forcing him to a sudden halt. In an automatic reflex, he took the dagger he kept hidden underneath his cloak and rotated his body, swinging the dagger towards the menacing grip.

 

“I’m not going to let you escape, ---,” said Akashi, easily grabbing Kuroko’s wrist and fully stopping the stabbing attempt. He released the bluenette’s cloak and lunged his hand forward, grabbing Kuroko by the front of his neck and pushing him down against the floor. “You are not allowed to escape me a second time, no matter what tricks you and yours attempt to pull this time around.”

 

“Let go!” yelled Kuroko, wiggling his body against the floor while trying to push Akashi’s hand away with the hand that he could freely move around. “Let go of m-”

 

“Did you have fun, ---?” asked Akashi, a deep frown on his features as he looked down at Kuroko while on top of him. “Did you spend these last 500 years laughing at our backs, pretending to be dead as we remained stuck in your world, unable to go back to our own, unable to forget the two millenniums we’ve lived here? Is that the plan you came up with as revenge against us? Speak, ---!!”

 

“...” Kuroko nothing said, he simply continued struggling against the hand around his neck that kept him glued to the floor.

 

“You might have denied it a thousand, a million times, but you’ve always loved your children more than those that you forcibly dragged to your world,” continued Akashi, bending Kuroko’s wrist only the enough to force him into releasing the dagger. “Now you mingle in their midsts, seeking to blend and disappear within their walls. Congratulations, ---. Your love has now set in stone the destruction of the entire human race!”

 

“Kuroko-kun!” yelled Furihata, quickly running towards the tower’s debris in search for the bluenette. An unexpected bolt of pain hit his body, however, when a dagger was stabbed on his stomach and made him fall against a small pile of rubble. “Argh!!”

 

“ _ Be gone forever, human scum! _ ” ordered Akashi, sideways glancing towards the fallen human, his eyes strongly glowing a golden light.

 

“NO!!” screamed Kuroko in half panic. Using the opportunity of Akashi's distraction while he attacked the wounded Furihata, Kuroko strongly pushed the redhead’s shoulders away from him, making him tumble sideways on the ground. In a last attempt to safeguard Furihata’s life, he twisted his body as further away from Akashi as possible and lightly touched the nearest wall with the pads of his fingers. The wall disappeared from his grasp and reappeared between them and Furihata.

 

“Trying to prolonge the feeble lives of your children?” snorted Akashi, a knowing smirk twisting the corner of his lips upwards as he came to a standing position. He grabbed Kuroko by the front of his clothes and also pulled him up from the floor, stopping his face half an inch away from the bluenette’s. “Very well, I shall allow such. But you’ve already doomed them all. The first one to die… will be Kuroko, the fake human.”

 

Kuroko felt a sudden electric discharge struck his body, from the ends of his hair to the tips of his toes. His body was completely stripped of strength and his vision blackened out. The sounds around him soon faded away, returning to a morbid silence that was strangely familiar to him.

 

“It’s time for you to return to be what you truly are, ---...” whispered Akashi, taking hold of the bluenette’s inert body against his chest and walking away from the palace’s ruins. With a quick flick of his fingers, a black portal appeared before them, seemingly leading them to a cursed distortion on the world’s space. Akashi walked toward it, closely holding the sleeping bluenette on his arms as they disappeared inside of it. “A world without its god is just a cluster of madness. A world with several gods is equivalent to constant war. But a world without you is a painful death each second that ticks by. So I shall commence a new era dominated by blood and iron.”

 

**The Wheel of Fortune - END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	22. Death I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> Starting this chapter, we'll enter a small prequel arc. It won't be very long, just the enough to give a little taste of how certain things began :3
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**[15 years ago]**

 

Kagami Taiga loudly banged the door behind himself as he darted down the stairs, a huge grin on his face as he ran as fast as he could towards the front door. He grabbed a small leather pouch hanging next to the front door and quickly peeked inside the kitchen.

 

“Mom, I’m gonna go for a ride!” yelled Kagami as he hurriedly strapped the leather pouch on his belt.

 

“Don’t go too far and be sure to return before dinner time,” said his mother, turning her head slightly around while continuing to punch and grind at the bread dough. “Oh, and the village chief warned me and your father about the forest in the north. He said it’s cursed so don’t go there. Got it?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” dismissed Kagami, rolling his eyes around as he turned around on his heels and darted towards the front door.

 

Kagami readily exited the wooden house and ran to the small stable next to his family’s new residence - though calling it a stable would be an overstatement seeing as it was simply an extension of the roof supported by two pillars on each side. They were lucky that their family’s horse wasn’t on the large size and could be easily fit in that small, tight outdoor corridor to shelter itself during the night and wintertime.

 

“Ready to explore our new homeland?” asked Kagami to the horse, lightly patting its head. He grabbed a two-steps stool and placed it next to the horse, equipping the animal for the ride with the mastery of an experient knight - even if Kagami was all but a 10-year old child. After making sure that all of the ties were properly fastened and weren’t causing any sort of discomfort to the horse, he jumped to the saddle and grabbed the reins, giving a small kick with his heels on the animal’s torso. “Let’s get goin’!”

 

The horse followed the instructions and immediately departed from the makeshift stable, its hooves raising a small cloud of dust behind them as it stepped in the village’s main road.

 

For Kagami, riding a horse was like gaining a pair of wings. The speed that made his surroundings get slightly blurry, the wind hitting his face and making his hair become a total mess, reaching far away places in a much shorter amount of time when compared to walking - yes, riding a horse was definitely the same as flying. And definitely much cooler! Whenever he saw knights elegantly riding their horses, both of their bodies decorated in shiny metal plates and thick, dark leather, his heart skipped a couple of beats in excitement.

 

“I’m definitely gonna become the most famous knight this world has ever seen!!” yelled Kagami at the top of his lungs as the horse jumped over a fallen tree to enter in a nearby forest.

 

The entrance of the forest had a small dirt path in it but as Kagami dived deeper in it, trees grew in abundance and there was a dense amount of bushes and grass all around them. He slowed down the horse’s rhythm and kept on carefully navigating through the forest’s depths. He had gone outside early in the morning but the tall trees nearly completely turned the day into the night while underneath its thick branches and leaves.

 

“I bet Alex would have the time of her life here, with so many different herbs that she could trade during her travels,” mumbled Kagami to himself, his red eyes observing the vegetation around him. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box but he could clearly see that some of the herbs and bushes around him were probably worth a small pouch filled with gold coins. “Such a drag that I can’t tell which ones would save a sick person and which ones would poison them to an early grave…”

 

As he kept slowly riding through the forest, Kagami noticed that the vegetation was steadily decreasing in density and size. The trees were no longer as tall and lustrous as before, the bushes were becoming scrawnier and the few herbs decorating the rocky ground were dry and brownish. His horse was also starting to get nervous and slightly jumpy.

 

“What’s the matter, buddy?” asked Kagami, trying to calm down the horse’s nerves by gently petting its brown mane. “I didn’t see any signs of wolves or other creatures around here. What’s getting you so… scared…”

 

All of a sudden, the forest disappeared from before his eyes and was replaced by dead land - a mantle of dry, black dirt extended as far as Kagami could see, pure white dead trees occasionally popping out above the surface.

 

“Is this… the cursed land that Mom told me about…?” asked Kagami to no one in particular, his eyes wide open in shock. He gulped down hard and slid his body down from the saddle, crushing a few dry wood sticks underneath his feet. He snorted, “Well, bad luck to those old folks. I don’t believe in curses and superstitions and the like.”

 

With the horse’s reins on his left hand, Kagami carefully guided the reluctant horse out of the forest and stepped into the cursed land. The fluffy ground and fresh grass were replaced by dusty, extremely dry dirt that seemed to crumble down a little bit each step he took.

 

“Shhh. It’s okay, this place is completely empty,” said Kagami, trying to reassure and calm down his horse once again. He was nearly forcing the animal to move by pulling the reins at this point. Without any visible warning, the horse suddenly loudly squealed, its front legs jumping high in the air and knocking the reins out of Kagami’s hands. The dry ground underneath them started to crumble and crumble, opening a large hole around his location. “Oh shit…!!!”

 

 The hole grew larger and larger as the crumbling of one small area spread and stimulated the nearby ones. Soon enough, Kagami’s body was engulfed by the dark hole, falling several meters without any means to grab at anything. There was just nothing around him that he could use to prevent his fall without widening the large hole even further.

 

“Urgh!!” groaned Kagami when he fell rear first on hard, cold stone, his spine painfully tingling with the impact. He immediately rolled his body around on the floor and covered his head, trying to protect himself from any falling objects. Once his surroundings were drowned in silence, he hesitantly lifted his arms from around his head. “I’m... so screwed…”

 

In half panic, Kagami jumped to a standing position and stared up. He had indeed fallen a good five or six meters deep into the ground. It was simply a miracle that the hard stone didn’t break his legs or spine when he came crashing down on it. The lack of his horse’s presence meant that the poor animal had managed to run away from the crumbling ground… but that also meant that the rope he usually placed behind the saddle was gone. Kagami had no way of climbing back up to the surface.

 

“What should I do now…?” whispered Kagami, his heart thundering inside of his chest. He was stuck in that hole. His horse would probably return to the village, yes, but no one would risk stepping in the cursed land to search for him, that was for sure. They would certainly think that Kagami was attacked by some wild beast or a group of nasty goblins, his parents included. He took a deep breath and slapped both cheeks with the palm of his hands. “Ouch!!”

 

Kagami crouched down on the ground and released his leather pouch from the belt. After pulling the thin thread, he emptied its contents on the stone floor. A few pieces of dried meat, a flintstone, a small dagger and his waterskin - that was all he currently had on him.

 

“I should start by getting some more light on me… Did any bits and pieces of wood fall with me?” mumbled Kagami to himself, putting everything back inside of his leather pouch except for the flintstone. He started walking around the hole, carefully observing the area illuminated from the sun creeping down from above surface level, until… “Huh?”

 

He lowered his body once again and brought his face closer to the stone floor. He brushed the dry dirt and small pieces of rock away from the floor and his jaw nearly dropped in surprise. He kept on cleaning the floor around him of all the dust and gravel, the idea of starting a fire now completely forgotten.

 

“You gotta be kidding me…” spat Kagami, a smile starting to creep up on his lips. He slowly got up and observed the stone floor, now partially clean of the dirt and bits of rock that had fallen together with him. He looked up to the hole’s opening and then back down to the floor. “This is no cursed land… It’s just a huge, fancy abandoned house.”

 

Underneath his feet was a neatly arranged stone flooring, clearly man-made by its intricate design and abstract pattern. And if there was a floor, there would be walls. If there were walls, there would be windows… and a door.

 

Following that train of thought, Kagami walked towards the non-illuminated area of the cave-like room he had apparently fallen in. He spread his arms in front of his body and carefully moved forward, taking one step at a time out of fear of falling in some sort of deeper hole. He continuously groped and patted the air around him, attempting to find a second stone structure, be it a pillar, be it an actual wall.

 

“Found it! Woah…!” exclaimed Kagami as soon as his fingertips scratched a cold, hard surface, but a sudden, unexpected strong brightness momentarily blinded him and forced him into taking cover by crouching down yet again. The sound of fire crackling reached his ears and there was now the slight fragrance of burnt wood and smoke. He swallowed in dry and took a hesitant peek at his surroundings.

 

Maybe he hadn’t fallen inside of a huge, fancy abandoned house.

 

Humans couldn’t use magic… and that endless, pure white stone corridor illuminated by countless torches with a light blue flame was the most magical place Kagami had ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	23. Death II

Kagami continued walking through the endless corridor, both his eyes and mouth open in awe.

 

The pure white stone of the walls, floor and ceiling blended with the light blue flame of the torches, giving it a mystical semblance. Every couple of meters, large pieces of the walls features drawings - some of beings that Kagami had seen in person or had heard about, most with stunning human-like creatures with long light blue hair and large white wings on their backs.

 

However, as he continued observing his surroundings on his way down the corridor, Kagami noticed that the paintings grew darker, the themes steadily became of war and the colour of red joined the light blue of the flames.

 

“Is this… the whole history of our world…?” mumbled Kagami to himself, stopping in front of an eerily dark painting. With a battlefield theme, the dark floor was piled with countless of the light blue-haired winged beings and several others were being killed by different creatures - demons, werecreatures, giants, harpies, even elves. Kagami motioned his hand forward and lightly traced the painting with his fingertips. “The Purge… wasn’t it? Does that mean that these winged beings are… the gods of humankind? What was the name again? Ahh… The Unspoken?”

 

A strong rush of wind suddenly put out all of the torches, drowning Kagami in pitch-black darkness for a couple of seconds before they once again lightened up on their own.

 

_ Uhh, that was creepy as heck, _ yelped Kagami in the back of his mind, a massive shudder going down his spine as he took a couple of steps back away from the painting. He turned slightly around and keep on walking forward, whatever direction he was taking.  _ I want to hurry up and find the way out of this damned place. _

 

After a couple more of meters, Kagami noticed that the paintings had completely ceased. What replaced them, however, was some sort of wild vegetation. Some seemed to be some sort of vine, with black stems and greyish leaves attached to it. Pointy thorns now and then peeked out from in between the leaves. Others were some tiny black flowers, with grey stems and a pair of also grey leaves. Due to the tonality, Kagami thought at first that they were nothing more than stone sculptures but when he tried blowing at one of the vines, the leaves trembled with the airflow.

 

A few more meters ahead, one more tonality, this time coloured, appeared in the corridor. Light blue hair - extremely long light blue hair was overflowing from whatever it was at the end of the corridor. The torches provided some visual clues of what Kagami could expect of the large saloon before him but the view still took his breath away the moment he finally crossed the last couple of meters of the corridor.

 

It was an extremely large saloon, its walls pure white like the ones on the corridor and floor made of marble stone. Large and extremely tall columns rose from the ground, their bodies slightly cracked and damaged by the passage of time and the thick vines that grew all around them.

 

At the centre of the big saloon, a large pool of a blood-red liquid twinkled against the light blue flames of the torches. Above it, stuck amid the thorny black and grey vines was one of the light blue-haired winged beings from the paintings.

 

Drop by drop, the blood-red liquid dribbled down from the two large gashes in their back. A more solid  _ pling _ also resounded from the bloody pool now and then, creating circular waves when it hit its surface.

 

“How many years ago… was the Purge again…?” asked Kagami to no one in particular, feeling his chest squeezing painfully in grief. He had never been a very pious human - he didn’t quite believe that gods could exist in a world that was so clearly unfair to ones and preferential to others, he couldn’t believe in cursed lands because the entire world was a slaughterhouse if you happened to be born a human.

 

But this being… This wounded being, forgotten to rot inside of a palace buried in a land that was even ostracised by humankind…

 

Maybe the gods hadn’t forsaken the world - it was the world that had forsaken its gods and sentenced them to forgetfulness in the middle of a land of death and decay.

 

“...!” Kagami picked up his leather pouch and took from inside the small dagger. He then threw the pouch to the floor, taking most of his clothes afterwards. He ran towards the blood-red pool, stepping inside of it despite his doubts over its safety when in contact with humans. Kagami awkwardly swam towards the column that was the closest to the wounded winged being and carefully grabbed to the vines around it, trying to avoid placing his hands on the thorns. He put the dagger between his teeth and mumbled, “Ogay, ugh ai go…!”

 

It was a slow and painful climb, as Kagami now and then misplaced his hands or feet and ended up feeling one of the pointy thorns bite into his skin and flesh. He was a good swimmer and the bloodied pool had enough depth for him to safely fall on it without hitting the marble ground, but he was already at a damn scary height to want to experience that rush of adrenaline. At the very least, he now knew that the vines were strong enough to hold onto his weight. He was only a child, it shouldn’t interfere much with those that were suspended in the air since they could hold onto the wounded winged being too.

 

“Haa…!” Once he reached the same level as the wounded winged being, Kagami sat down on the vines and took the dagger from his mouth, releasing a long sigh of relief. The first part was done. Now he just needed to slowly crawl on the vines and reach the blue-haired creature. He snorted. “Geez, I don’t even know if they’re still alive or not… Well, they’re bleeding so I guess they are?”

 

Taking a shaky deep breath, Kagami began the last phase of the unexpected rescue. He got on all fours while on top of the quivering vines and slowly crawled towards the wounded winged being, motioning his hands and legs forward one at a time to certify himself that he had a good hold to the thorny stems before. It probably didn’t take him more than 15 minutes to reach the creature, but with all the tension and the intense beating of his heart, Kagami felt that he had spent hours trying to get to that point of the vines.

 

“Hm… Let’s take a look first,” softly said Kagami, sitting straight in the thickest of vines after having used the dagger to chop off all of the thorns. He tightly wrapped his legs on the vine and slowly fell backwards, getting suspended upside down on it. With careful motions, he gently parted the winged being’s light blue strands of hair and took a peek at their features. His heart once again sped up inside of his ribcage. “Wow… They’re way prettier than the ones on the paintings…”

 

Kagami pulled his body up once again and carefully observed the winged creature’ body, trying to figure out the safest way to free them from the vines. He also had to find a way to get them down afterwards but, if push comes to shove, they could just jump to the bloodied pool below them.

 

“First I need to do something about all of that hair, it’ll get in the way,” declared Kagami, more to himself than to the wounded creature. He didn’t know if they could hear him or not, but it was better to have someone to talk with than to remain in deep silence in that kind of setting, even if no answer would be given. Kagami scooched closer to the winged being’s head and gently took a hold of some silky light blue strands. “If you’re a girl, sorry about this. I know how pissy you can get if something bad happens to your hair.”

 

And so Kagami started cutting that beautiful hair with the dagger, trying to get it as nicely cut as a clumsy 10-years-old could. As he did so, Kagami kept on talking to them, explaining how he had ended up breaking into their palace by accident while going for a horse ride. When he started cutting the vines that had grown all around the wounded winged being’s body, Kagami was already on the part of his life-long story where he complained about how his family was forced to constantly move from village to village due to sudden attacks by the other kinds.

 

“Because the villages don’t usually have walls around them, those bastards always come after them,” grumbled Kagami, grabbing onto one of the vines and carefully pulling it away from the winged being’s body to cut it. “They kill the humans, destroy the houses and burn whatever crop fields we had grown since the last attack. Then hunger comes for the survivors and most end up travelling to whichever village is closest by. Because we can’t grow a steady amount of crops or animals, we don’t have many opportunities to trade products for money or other goods. So most of us don’t have enough money to pay the tolls to get inside of the larger kingdoms, sometimes to even get close to the larger kingdoms. Oh, I think I can pull you out now!”

 

Kagami grabbed the wounded winged being by the arms and gently tugged at them, so very carefully so that he wouldn’t hurt them more than they already were nor make them lose balance and fall all the way down to the bloodied pool. Luckily for him, that strategy was smoothly accomplished. Kagami managed to slip the winged being from in between the remaining vines and pulled them towards his lap.

 

“Success!!” exclaimed Kagami, a huge grin on his features as he victoriously motioned his closed fist up in the air. A light blush crept into his cheeks shortly after, though, and Kagami shyly adjusted the ripped clothes that covered the winged being’s pale skin, trying to keep them as gracious and elegant as that sleeping face beckoned to be. Gently, Kagami parted the soaked in blood fabric from their back and took a hesitant glance at the bleeding wounds. “You… had your wings ripped out of you, didn’t you? For how many years have you been bleeding inside of this palace, all by yourself, to create a pool of blood as large and deep as the one below us…?”

 

When Kagami saw a small shiny pearl dribbling out of the corner of the bluenette’s eye and fall on the bloodied pool with a soft  _ pling _ , he readily adjusted their body closer to his own and tightly hugged them.

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you be alone ever again,” said Kagami, giving a strong sniff to try to prevent his own tears from leaking out. “I’ll take you out of here and find a place for you to heal and get a new pair of large, white wings. When that happens, let me fly together with you, okay?”

 

Kagami grabbed onto the bluenette’s larger body the best be could and jumped down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	24. Death III

“This should do it,” acknowledged Kagami, giving a strong pull to the makeshift rope he created by enlacing several vines to test its durability. He rolled it up and placed it beside the other makeshift climbing materials he had somewhat managed to make using what he could find around him - the metallic supports of the torches were ripped out of the walls and bent even further so that they could be stabbed in the wall once again while holding onto the rope.

 

Thanks to all of that hard work, Kagami’s hands were covered in cuts and blisters. His arms, legs and feet were also covered in small cuts and bruises, caused by the vines and the previous column climbing adventure.

 

“Just a little bit more and we can get out of here,” said Kagami, walking over to the sleeping bluenette and taking a hold of the net he had also created with the vines. The winged being was overall taller than him, even if still with a small stature for an adult, so carrying them on his arms or back would be impossible for Kagami. He definitely wasn’t going to leave them there so he had to find a way to transport them back to the hole from where he fell. Kagami wrapped part of the net around his wrists and hands and started carrying the bluenette towards the place where he had been working on the climbing materials. He placed them beside the bluenette and strapped his leather pouch back on his belt. “Okay, let’s get goin’!”

 

Kagami still remembered how long the corridor had been so every couple of paintings he passed by, he would take a break, check on the wounded winged being and take a couple of bites of the dried meat and swings of water to boost his energy. He wondered if it wouldn’t be advisable for him to also feed some water to the bluenette but he wasn’t even sure if they ate or drank like humans, so he simply certified himself that neither the net or the floor was opening the wounds on their back even further.

 

As Kagami carried the bluenette on the net and pulled him through the corridor, he continued talking to them. He didn’t want to think about the paintings, he didn’t want to think about how those beautiful drawings had eventually turned into the horrifying sight inside of the large saloon. All he wanted was to climb up the hole and show the bluenette that, even though it wasn’t safe or as pretty as the paintings, there was still better places in that world than the sightly palace they had been left for dead.

 

It was actually kind of funny how Kagami’s priorities had changed from going back to his family to taking an unknown creature out of its prison. It still suited those initial plans so he didn’t delve too much in it.

 

“But now comes the hard part…” sighed Kagami, gently dropping the net and letting the bluenette stay fully laid down on the stone floor. He looked up and stared to the darkened sky. It seemed that quite a few hours had passed since he went out for the horse ride and the sun was starting to set. “It’s not safe to walk around the forest during the night, much less without a horse and while carrying an unconscious being. We better hurry u- Ah… I need to think up a name for you afterwards.”

 

Kagami readily put his hands down to work once again. He slipped the vine rope inside of the metal arcs, always giving a tight knot around the metallic pieces. Then picked one of them up and slammed it against the wall, breaking the white stone as he attached the rope there through the metal arcs. He gave a quick yank to it, certifying himself that it was well stuck, and then dropped the rope to the floor.

 

“Um… S-Sorry if this feels uncomfortable to you…” apologised Kagami as he picked up the bluenette and placed them on his back, tying the net around both of them and making sure that the wounded winged being was well attached to him.

 

If he was a regular 10-year-old child, Kagami was dead sure that he would never be able to carry the bluenette through that hole on his own. But he had been lucky to be born with a body bigger than the children of the same age as him, not to mention much stronger than those older than him. The bluenette’s body might be bigger than his but they weren’t as heavy as to become a real inconvenience. Kagami slipped the rope in between the front side of the net, right above his stomach area, and grabbed onto it with one of his hands.

 

Kagami placed one of his feet on top of the metal arc and pushed his body up, readily stabbing a second near his waist area and then a third and fourth one above his head. He quickly made sure that the three metal pieces were well placed and put his other foot on the second metal arc, climbing a little bit more the wall. And so he kept going. Metal arc after metal arc, one foot then the other, left hand, right hand - Kagami relentlessly climbed the wall, trying to go as fast as possible out of fear that the net around the two of them would break and force the bluenette into a painful, maybe deadly due to their unconscious state, fall to the stone floor.

 

“Maybe… haa… I should have gone to the village first… and ask my parents for help… Haa…” said Kagami with a certain difficulty, sweat running down the side of his face as he kept forcing his way up. “But… haa… I said I would take you out of here… haa… so  _ I _ will take you out of here…!!”

 

Kagami lunged his hand upwards and dug his nails and fingers in the dry, black dirt. Then his other hand. Whatever remaining strength his arms still had, he used it so he could propel his body up and slide it through the dusty dirt, trying to be as quick and swift as possible to avoid having the ground crumble down a second time and be sent right back to the underground palace.

 

_ Fwump _ . Kagami let his body fall against the dry ground, his chest inflating and deflating with quickened motioned as he panted his tiredness away. He used his bloodied hand to unknot the net from around them and dragged his body from underneath the bluenette. Kagami then grabbed the bluenette and also pulled them further away from the hole, trying to get as close to the forest as possible before he fully ran out of strength. He knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to spend the night in the middle of a forest while completely unharmed but what other option did they have? Kagami was far too tired, hungry and thirsty to be able to carry the wounded winged being back to the village.

 

“No… Haa… I have to do it…” panted Kagami, quickly wiping the sweat and dirt out of his features with a ripped sleeve. He lowered his body and gently placed his hand on the bluenette’s back - the winged being’s blood joined his own. “Still bleeding… They’ll die at this rate…”

 

Releasing a long tired sigh, Kagami leaned his back on a nearby tree, intending on taking a short break before starting the trip back to the village. First of all, he needed to figure out which direction he should walk towards. The sun was nearly all set so soon enough stars would appear in the dark sky. He could use them as a guide. Next, he needed to find a way of carrying the bluenette through the forest. He could no longer drag them against the floor with the net - the ground was far too rough, bumpy and irregular for that, not to mention the forest was extremely dense and with a lot of thick roots perforating the dirt in some areas.

 

“We’ve run into another wall…” snorted Kagami, leaning the back of his head in the tree as he switched his red gaze to the sky. A soft breeze crossed through the forest, lifting a small cloud of dust in the cursed land. “Hey… What kind of name do you have? You’re one of The Unspoken, aren’t you? My name’s Kagami Taiga. A bit late for introductions, I guess, after me talking to you the entire day. But there’s a really big chance that we’ll be attacked by some sort of creature before we reach the village I told you about. If that happens, at least you won’t die next to a human whose name you don’t even know.”

 

The slight crack of a twig breaking in two. The rustling of leaves and grass. The paced sound of steps, which grew closer and closer.

 

“It was nice to meetcha, Unspoken-san,” whispered Kagami, taking a hold of the bluenette and pulling them closer to his body. He gently patted their messy light blue hair while inserting his free hand inside of his leather pouch and taking his half-broken dagger from inside. He gulped down hard, his fingertips trembling just the slightest. “It’s a pity that we won’t be able to fly in the sky after a- ...Eh?”

 

When Kagami was convinced that a goblin or maybe a wild wolf was about to jump at them, what popped out from behind the tree was the head of his family’s horse. His red eyes immediately went wide in surprise.

 

“EH!? What are you still doing here!?” yelped Kagami, immediately darting his body to a standing position. He lightly patted the horse’s torso as it fully came out from its hiding spot, releasing a low nicker and bumping its nose against Kagami’s face. He couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Hey, you big ass scaredy-cat! How dare you turn tail and leave me to fall on that freaking hole, but then stay in the area as if waiting for me! What an asshole you ended up being! Ahahahahaha!”

 

Kagami grabbed the horse’s reins and led it to a nearby large rock, which he would use as a ladder to climb to the animal’s back. He then ran back to near the bluenette.

 

“I guess we lucked out this time, Unspoken-san!” cheerfully said Kagami, a huge grin on his lips as he grabbed the bluenette’s arms and placed him on his back once again. He first put the wounded winged being on top of the horse’s saddle and then jumped to its torso, only straightening and adjusting his riding position afterwards. Once he made sure that both he and the bluenette were well secure on top of the horse - Kagami once again tied a portion of the vine rope around their waists to avoid any accidental falls -, he gave a kick to the horse’s torso with his heels and got it speeding out of the forest. “Let’s get going, scaredy-cat! Back to the village!”

 

_ Dad said that there’s a healer currently living in the village, somewhere around the east side of the central plaza _ , inwardly remembered Kagami, lowering his body to avoid having any branch of the trees being slapped on his face in the midst of the forest’s dark ambience.  _ He and Mom are probably worried sick but the healer definitely needs to come first. _

 

His horse seemed to be able to perfectly read his thoughts, for it crossed the forest as fast as it could but always through the less dense patches of the forest, enabling the fast-paced travel to run smoothly and with very little turbulence.

 

Soon enough, some occasional spots of light infiltrated through the leaves and branches in front of them. Moments later, the scent of burning wood and food being prepared for supper wafted Kagami’s nose.

 

“Jump!” instructed Kagami, giving a quick squeeze to the horse’s torso with his heels and urging the animal to jump over a short wooden fence. He reduced their speed but still kept a steady canter towards the central plaza. However, he still had no idea which house belonged to the healer so as soon as Kagami spotted someone walking through the streets, he forced the horse to slow down even further and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Hey!! The healer! Where does the healer live!?”

 

“Huh?” grumbled the man, both he and the three children accompanying him turning their heads at the same time to look at whoever had yelled so desperately at them out of the blue. With an eyebrow slightly arched in suspicion, he asked, “Why do you want to know where the healer lives? Actually, who are you?”

 

“Never mind who I am, she… he… ahh... “ started Kagami with a certain annoyance, though his words turned into a messy fumbling when he realised that there were so many things that he didn’t know and many more that he couldn’t quite explain. He held more closely to the bluenette’s inert body and yelled, “Someone is dying right this moment! Could you just cut the fucking bullshit and tell me where the healer is or not!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	25. Death IV

“Riko-chan, get everything ready in the treatment room,” instructed Aida Kagetora, leading the horse with its two riders on top by the reins to his house. “Hyuuga, go get as much water from the well as you can and put it boiling on the fireplace. We need to have sterilised water as quickly as possible. Kiyoshi, help me get these two inside.”

 

The three children readily did as they were instructed. The girl ran inside a nearby house, leaving the front door open as she started putting all the instruments in the correct places for easy access and use. The bespeckled boy darted in the opposite direction where they were moving towards, the well in the central plaza being the target point. The remaining boy helped the man lead the horse into the front door area of the house, fetching a stool to help Kagami get off of the horse without needing to be asked.

 

“Listen well, boy, if you want us to help you, then you need to help us out too and tell me what exactly happened,” said Kagetora, helping Kagami get off of the horse and into the stool. He grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands up, closely observing the cuts and blisters all over his skin. He yelled, “Riko, you can deal with the brat!”

 

“Okay!!” yelled back Aida Riko in acknowledgement, still busy pacing back and forth inside of the house.

 

“Let’s see what we have on this one,” mumbled Kagetora to himself as he climbed the stool and looked over to the remaining rider on the horse. He picked up the bluenette from the horse’s saddle and went down the stool, quickly walking inside of the house while checking if they were still breathing. The bluenette was indeed breathing… but at the same time, they weren’t. “Riko, put some more bedsheets in the bed before you go take care of the brat. This one is losing quite a lot of blood.”

 

Kagami closely followed behind Kagetora, his eyes jumping around his surroundings and observing the place he was getting himself in. He constantly glanced over to the wounded winged being, certifying himself that they were doing okay - or as okay as it was possible, given the circumstances.

 

“Don’t worry, Kagetora-san will take good care of them,” reassured Kiyoshi Teppei, placing a hand on top of the redhead’s shoulder and giving him a soft grin. “Riko will also do wonders to your hands and any other wound you may have.”

 

“What’s your name, brat?” asked Kagetora, putting the bluenette on the bed as soon as Riko placed a few more bedsheets on top of the already existing ones. “And this guy’s name too, if you will.”

 

“Kagami Taiga… ah, Sir,” answered Kagami, trying to be a bit more formal with the man that would try to give them as much help as he could. “But I don’t know their name.”

 

“You don’t know?” repeated Kagetora, throwing a quick side glance at the redhead while washing his hands on a water basin. “Did you get in some sort of troublesome situation while riding your horse and bumped into him?”

 

“I guess…” grumbled Kagami in answer.

 

“Sit here, I’ll check your wounds and tend to them,” instructed Riko, patting the seat of the chair placed next to the end of the bluenette’s bed. She went to get a water basin to herself and placed it on the floor, readily washing her hands before she grabbed onto Kagami’s bloodied ones and started observing all the cuts and blisters in them.

 

“What kind of creature attacked the two of you?” asked further Kagetora, picking up a small knife and cutting the back of the bluenette’s clothes with it. He parted the fabric from his skin and lightly touched the area around the two gashes, closely observing the type and depth of the bleeding cuts. “If you don’t know the name of the creature, try to describe it as accurately as you can. If it’s a creature that uses poison or other chemical substances, we need to use the correct antidote or you’ll die even we patch up your wounds.”

 

“We weren’t attacked by anything,” answered Kagami, a small frown on his brows as he observed the young girl in front of him organising a set of unknown tools in a wooden tray. “I… um… I went to the cursed land in the north forest and… the floor gave in and I fell inside of a really big underground palace.”

 

“An underground palace in the cursed land?” repeated Riko, her eyes wide open in surprise. She looked over to her father and also saw a shocked expression on his face. “Wasn’t that place supposed to have nothing in it, Dad?”

 

“Yes, from what the village chief told me when we arrived, that place has been completely stripped off of life since before this village was built here,” acknowledged Kagetora, focusing once again on the bluenette’s wounds. “He said that some of his ancestors tried to use that place for vegetable crops since the land was already cleared of all vegetation. But everything that attempted to live or grow there started to rot and eventually died. So they started calling it cursed land and now all villagers avoid that place for dear life. Quite the brave little adventurer we have here. Continue.”

 

“My horse ran away when I fell in the hole and since I keep the bigger tools in the saddle area, I had no way of climbing out of there,” continued Kagami, wincing just the slightest when Riko started cleaning his hands with a soaked piece of cloth. “Even with the sunlight coming from the hole, it was a really dark corridor. But when I touched the wall, torches with blue flames appeared out of nowhere! As if by magic!”

 

“...” Riko and Kagetora exchanged a quick glance with each other, a hesitant expression on their faces. Maybe the boy… was simply a bit crazy in the head…

 

“Since I couldn’t climb back up, I just went with the flow and started walking through the corridor,” continued Kagami, not noticing at all the reticence crossing the two healers’ minds. “That corridor was huge, filled with large paintings on the walls. There were paintings of all types of creatures, like demons and giants and elves and loads of beings that I have no idea what they’re called. The paintings with The Unspoken were really beautiful! But then the paintings got uglier and darker until it finally reached The Purge. It was awful, seeing those pretty beings getting killed by those ugly bastards! That was the last painting and then I reached the end of the corridor, where I found-”

 

“Wait, wait, wait!” interrupted Kagetora, nearly choking on his own words. Or this boy was insanely insane… or he was telling the truth. Kagetora knew he should continue applying the treatment on the bluenette’s wounds, but that narration was too absurd - too close to the rumours floating around in the mouths of the most intellectual and religious - to allow him to stay solemnly focused on the healing. “P-Paintings of The Purge… and The Unspoken…? How do you know what The Unspoken look like? No living human has seen any of them, if they even existed in the first place.”

 

“They’re really beautiful!” exclaimed Kagami, a huge grin on his lips as he turned his head to the bed and pointed at the bluenette laid in it. “They have really long light blue hair and pure white wings on their backs. Just like her… ah… him…?

 

“...him…” corrected Kagetora, revealing to Kagami the gender of the bluenette he had brought along with him from the cursed land. “Kagami… you found him inside of the underground palace…?”

 

“Yeah,” acknowledged Kagami with a short nod of his head, wincing once again at the pressure applied to the cuts to clean the dry blood off of them. “He was inside of a big, old room… The room was covered in plants and vines that seemed to be made of stone. They’re the same vines I used to make the rope and net to get us out of there. In the middle of the room… there was a huge, very deep, pool made of blood. He was stuck on the vines right above that pool. I climbed one of the large columns covered by the vines, I guess that’s when I got most of these cuts, and then cut the vines that were keeping him stuck there. Since he’s a guy, he won’t complain all that much about me cutting his gigantic hair while I was at it. His hair was so big that it reached the corridor! Once I got him free, we jumped to the pool of blood. But from the moment I saw him, he’s always been sleeping…”

 

“Kagami,” softly called Kagetora, a deep frown on his face as he carefully placed a wettened piece of cloth on top of the bluenette’s back, attempting to stop the bleeding. No matter how much pressure he applied or how many pieces of cloth he used, the red blood continued to flow out of the two nearly vertical gashes. “Never, and I must repeat,  _ never _ tell what you just told us to anyone, no matter how much you trust them. If this guy really is one of The Unspoken… do you have any idea of what that means?”

 

“...” Kagami opened his mouth to answer, but he ended up simply shaking his head in denial.

 

“It means that humanity is in the presence of a godly entity after 500 years of constant persecution caused by a rebellion to kill our god,” said Kagetora, gulping down hard as he stared at the bluenette’s sleeping face. “If any of  _ them _ finds out that one of The Unspoken is still alive… the war will begin all over again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	26. Death V

“How did it go?” asked Hyuuga Junpei as soon as he opened the door, an eyebrow slightly arched as he stared to the red-haired boy.

 

“How do you think?” hissed Kagami, a huge frown on his features as he pushed his way inside of the healer’s house. As he stomped his way to the second floor through the wooden stairs, he crossed his arms over his chest, with a certain care to not erupt another wave of throbbing pain on his wounded hands. “Forbidden of going out on horse rides until my parents forget about the huge scare I freakin’ caused them! Which means I will never ride a horse ever again!!”

 

“It’s your own fault there,” pointed out Hyuuga, closing the door and following after the redhead. “They did warn you about the cursed land. And what did you do? You went to the cursed land. Did you told them about…?”

 

“Kagetora-san told me not to so that’s what I did,” grumbled Kagami with a small voice as he stepped on the corridor that gave access to the upper rooms. He stopped in front of one of the closed doors and gave a soft knock to it. “Can I come in?”

 

“Yeah, sure,” said Kagetora from inside of the room. When Kagami opened the door, he found the healer once again working on the bluenette’s wounds, gently changing the blood-stained white ligatures. “How did it go back at your house?”

 

“Could you all shut up with that already!?” hissed Kagami, stomping his foot on the floor and rushing over to the bed. With a short jump, he sat down on the end of the mattress, sideways glancing at the sleeping bluenette with a pissed off expression on his face. “Grounded for life…”

 

“Thought as much,” snorted Kagetora, using two safety pins to keep the ligatures in place. He then slowly turned the bluenette’s body around, attempting to use the little weight his body displayed as pressure to stop the bleeding. “And your wounds?”

 

“They’re just scratches and cuts, nothing major,” dismissed Kagami, dropping his hands on top of the bed and using them to pull his body closer to the wounded winged being. After giving a long, silent glance to the bluenette, he looked back to Kagetora. “What about him? How’s he doing?”

 

“As you can see, he’s still bleeding and sleeping,” sighed Kagetora, dropping the bloodied ligatures inside of a small wooden crate - one that was already filled to the brim with countless ones. “I’m a healer specialised in humans, not magical beings. If this guy was a human, with the amount of blood he’s losing, he wouldn’t have arrived at the village alive. He actually would be nothing more than bones by the time you found him, to be more precise. I have no idea how he’s still alive and I have no idea of what I can do to stop the bleeding or wake him up.”

 

“But when we were talking about him yesterday, you seemed to know quite a bit about ‘The Unspoken’,” pointed out Kagami, tilting his head a little bit as he observed Kagetora with a small frown on his features. “Can’t you just do a bit of research by reading books and whatnot to find out a way to heal him?”

 

“If only it was that simple…” sighed Kagetora once again, washing the blood from his hands in a water basin and then drying them off with a piece of fabric. He threw the cloth back to near the basin and walked to a nearby chair, where he took a seat. “What do you know about ‘The Unspoken’ and the Purge, Kagami?”

 

“Um…” started thinking Kagami, tilting his head even further as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Before I went to the underground palace and saw the paintings, I just heard that ‘The Unspoken’ used to be our god until the five main lineages got sick and tired of being ordered around and killed all of them during the Purge.”

 

“Yes, I guess that’s the summarised version of it,” acknowledged Kagetora, glancing over to Hyuuga when he heard him release a small laugh due to the redhead’s answer. “But the long version is not much bigger than that, to be honest. During the Purge, all written documents, artwork and information about ‘The Unspoken’ was erased and destroyed. The reason why we call our god ‘The Unspoken’ is because we can’t even pronounce his name anymore. We don’t know what kind of being he was, we don’t know anything about where he came from or how he created this world. All we know is that we have a god, to which some still send prayers to and believe that they will be answered if they believe in him… But that’s all towards a god that has been erased from this world. He only exists in history and religion lessons now.”

 

“I never asked you this, Kagetora-san, but…” hesitantly intervened Hyuuga, taking a step forward in the older man’s direction. “Why did the Purge happen? Why did the five main lineages suddenly decide to kill ‘The Unspoken’?”

 

“Who knows?” said Kagetora, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders. “Do you think we, humans, can ever understand what goes around inside of their heads? However, some scholars say that it was out of revenge.”

 

“Revenge?” repeated Kagami, an eyebrow slightly arched on his brows. He took another glance to the sleeping bluenette. What exactly could such beautiful beings have done to lead to such a gruesome act of vengeance?

 

“They say that we, humans, are the rightful lineage of this world,” explained Kagetora, a not very pleased expression on his face. “All the other creatures and beings that live here were forcefully dragged from their worlds to ours. So, according to this theory, the five main lineages planned that massacre as an attempt to be returned to their worlds. They thought, ‘Hey, it was that god that kidnapped us here so if we kill him, we’ll be sent back home’. Though, in my opinion, that’s just a bunch of nepotist crap.”

 

“N-Nepo...tist…?” softly repeated Kagami, starting to get completely lost on what was being said by the sudden upgrade on the difficulty level and vocabulary use.

 

“If the Purge was an attempt to return to their worlds, then they would have done that the moment they were summoned to this world,” continued Kagetora, completely ignorant of the redhead’s confusion. “Why would they wait for thousands of years to act out their revenge? Because they had other leaders? Nah, demons and elves live for thousands of years. The more powerful they are, the longer they live. Was there a sudden disagreement between their leaders and our god? Now that’s a more plausible answer.”

 

“T-That must have been a huge ass disagreement, then,” said Kagami, a small shudder running down his spine. He had never seen a demon in person, but he had heard tales of how scary and violent they were went hunting down any human that dared to get close to Rakuzan, their kingdom. He had heard tales of how the giants crushed entire villages with their feet and how the harpies slaughtered with sudden fires and projectiles. How the elves seduced humans to their deaths and how werecreatures annihilated any settlement that appeared before them during their migration cycles. He softly breathed, “Maybe when he wakes up… he can tell us what happened…”

 

“That’s true,” acknowledged Kagetora with a short nod of his head. “But then again, there’s no guarantee that he’ll ever wake up. He might be under some sort of curse that has put him in a slumber for all eternity. Maybe he’s actually dead but, as a godly being, his body keeps on living. Or maybe… Gods can’t exist in a world where their existence is denied.”

 

“Huh?” interjected both Kagami and Hyuuga at the same time.

 

“It’s sort of hard to explain but it’s something along these lines,” started Kagetora, lightly massaging the back of his neck. “You know what bread is, right? Now imagine you lived in a very, very far away isolated kingdom that was unable to grow wheat or corn. They couldn’t make bread that way so they don’t have it. They don’t know of its existence so, for them, it simply doesn’t exist. There’s no ‘bread’ in their world. The same can be applied to living beings. There’s a lot of creatures that live specifically in a certain area and are unknown to those who are on the opposite side of the world. We don’t know them so, for us, they don’t exist. Do you get what I’m trying to say?”

 

“No, not really?” said Kagami in the form of a question. “I mean, we know that ‘The Unspoken’ exists. Every human and other beings know about them and the Purge. How is that denying their existence?”

 

“You just need to not know about it,” sighed Kagetora, rolling his eyes around. “What’s our god’s name?”

 

“Um… ‘The Unspo-”

 

“Wrong!” interrupted Kagetora, slapping his hand on his upper leg. He pointed at Hyuuga afterwards. “That brat over there is Hyuuga Junpei. You’re Kagami Taiga. I’m Aida Kagetora. That’s a ‘bed’. This is a ‘chair’. We’re currently inside of a ‘house’. We all live in a ‘village’. Every human and creature inhabits ‘Teikou’. Now, I’m going to ask again. What’s our god’s name? What’s the sleeping cutie’s name?”

 

“I… don’t know…” admitted Kagami, his red eyes opening wide as he finally understood what Kagetora was trying to say.

 

Everything in the world, material and immaterial, possessed its own unique name. That name provided it with validity, meaning and weight. Knowing the specific name of every tree was not needed to know that trees existed. A generalization of ‘tree’ was more than enough to provide it with validity, meaning and weight. Knowing the name of every single human being in the world wasn’t needed to prove their existence. The collective name of ‘humankind’ was all that was needed to provide every single human with validity, meaning and weight.

 

But the gods were different.

 

What provided a god with validity, meaning and weight were the numbers that acknowledged their existence. If someone doesn’t believe in a god, then for them, it doesn’t exist. If someone believes in a god, then for them, that god in particular exists. Each person can have their individual god and a group of people can have a collective god. Anyone can have as many gods as they please… for as long as they have a name that distinguished them of ‘god’.

 

Because a god without a name is merely a concept - it does not exist.

 

“Exactly. Not you, not anyone knows his name,” acknowledged Kagetora, getting up from the chair and walking over in the sleeping bluenette’s direction. “This guy probably had a name once. Our god too, obviously. But he was denied of that name during the Purge. The reason why he’s still in this world is probably because he clung to the concept of ‘The Unspoken’. Or maybe there’s still a being in this world that knows his real name, I don’t know. However, he’s nothing more than an empty husk. Eventually, time will make the concept of ‘The Unspoken’ lose its spark in our lives. If there’s anyone out there that knows his name, they’ll eventually die. At that moment, he’ll just quietly fade away.”

 

“Then let’s give him a name!” announced Kagami out of the blue, making the mattress of the bed wobble around with the sudden jerk his body gave.

 

“Huh!?” exclaimed both Kagetora and Hyuuga at the same time, their jaws left hanging wide open at that unexpected crazed idea.

 

“What’s the harm?” asked Kagami with a quick shrug of his shoulders. “Women change their family name when they marry and if you adopt a child, you can also change their name, right? Then I don’t think giving him a new name matters much. It can even just be a temporary one until he wakes up and can tell us his real name! Besides… He struggled for so long all by himself… Even if he ends up just fading away, I want to give him a little bit of peace of mind before that happens.”

 

“Simpletons truly are amazing creatures…” sighed Kagetora, still eyeing the redhead as if looking at a completely foreigner being. “Well, suit yourself. You were the one who found him so he’s your responsibility now. If you want to name him, go right ahead. But that will just make it harder for you when he fades away.”

 

“Name… A name, huh…” thought out loud Kagami, ignoring completely Kagetora’s warnings. He crossed his arms over his chest and closely observed the sleeping winged being, a small frown popping out on his features due to the concentration and brainpower he was putting forward. “Hmmmm… A name… Name… Hmmm… OH! I got it!!”

 

“Let’s hear it then,” scoffed Kagetora, rolling his eyes around. He really had to wonder what kind of name the dumbass brat had decided to give to the godly being.

 

“Kuroko!” announced Kagami, proudly grinning at the healer. “You said that no one can know of his existence or it may start another war between humans and the other kinds, right? I remember Mom once told me about a type of acting show from the kingdom where she was born. They had these people all dressed in black that changed the props and helped the actors change and whatnot but were completely ignored by the audience. They didn’t exist in the eyes of the audience but were still there nevertheless. I think that would be a perfect name for him since he exists but can’t really exist!”

 

“Haa… Yes, yes, whatever,” sighed Kagetora, once again rolling his eyes. “If you like that name, then go ahead. What about his first name?”

 

“Gods usually only have one name, right?” asked back Kagami, a dead serious demeanour on his features as he looked straight at the healer.

 

“So you’re not even going to try to pretend that he’s only human, huh…” muttered Kagetora, crossing his arms over his chest as he also stared right back to the redhead. He sighed. “Again, you found him, he’s your responsibility. If Kuroko is the name you want to give him, then Kuroko it- …!!”

 

“What?” asked Kagami, an eyebrow slightly arched as he saw a sudden expression of horror overcome the healer’s face. When he looked over in the same direction as he was staring at, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets too. “...Kuroko?”

 

‘Kuroko’ had opened his eyes for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	27. Death VI

“Dad, we’re back!” announced Riko, opening the upper room’s door and stepping inside together with Kiyoshi. Seeing the utter chaos that had occupied that division of the house, both Riko and Kiyoshi could only stare at its occupants with flabbergasted expressions. “Eh!?”

 

“This is impossible! Unbelievable!” exclaimed Kagetora, passing back and forth next to the bed. “Was it because Kagami gave him a new name and, with it, validated his existence? Or was it because Kagami acknowledged his existence as a god? Kagami, did you do anything else to him?”

 

“Heck if I know,” said Kagami, on all fours on top of the bed as he curiously observed the sat down bluenette from different angles. ‘Kuroko’s’ demeanour remained completely expressionless as he stared into the distance, his teal eyes completely unblinking. “But… Hmm… So this is what a god looks like… Yeah, as I thought, the real deal looks much better than the ones in the paintings!”

 

“Kagami, you’re being too rude!” admonished Hyuuga, his features slightly pale as he observed the redhead and the bluenette from the distance. “If he’s really a g-g-god, aren’t you afraid of divine punishment for the way you’re acting!?”

 

"If gods were that fickle with divine punishment, then 'the Purge' wouldn't have happened," pointed out Kagami, craning his head sideways to try to stare straight at the bluenette's teal eyes. "Hey, Kagetora-san. Are gods supposed to be this… lifeless?"

 

"I never saw a god, how exactly should I know?" sighed Kagetora. Kagami's carefree attitude was starting to rub off on him so he couldn't help but stop his back and forth passing and start observing the supposed god more tranquilly.

 

"It's just that he looks a bit different from the paintings in the underground palace…" whispered Kagami, pushing his body back and sitting down on the bed. He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the left. "He seemed more alive in the paintings. Or is it because he doesn't have wings anymore?"

 

"He just woke up from a very, very long slumber. Not to mention, he's wounded," said Kagetora, taking a peek in the door's direction and gesturing for Riko and Kiyoshi to come closer. "Even if he's a god, he may need some time to fully recover. I mean, if it was something that he was able to do on his own, he would have freed himself long ago. But he just stayed stuck there for centuries. Maybe gods aren't omnipotent after all." 

 

"Dad…" called Riko with a certain hesitation, her eyes closely observing the sat down bluenette's. "What happened…? God? You mean him…?"

 

"The moment Kagami gave him a name and acknowledged him as a god, the cutie suddenly opened his eyes and sat up on his own," explained Kagetora, pointing at the bed with his thumb. "I can't find any other explanation for it other than him being a god. Actually, for as ridiculous and unbelievable as it may sound, it is the only plausible explanation."

 

"So gods really exist…" softly whispered Kiyoshi, his eyes slightly open wide in surprise.

 

"Kagami, can you take me to the underground palace?" asked Kagetora, his demeanour suddenly turning extremely serious.

 

"Sure but… Why?" asked Kagami back, an eyebrow getting slightly perked up in both suspicion and excitement. "It's just a bunch of ruins. There's nothing there except the half-destroyed structure, dust and overgrown plants."

 

"Ruins and destroyed ancient buildings can tell us quite a lot, you know?" pointed out Kagetora, a knowing smirk lightly tugging at the corner of his lips. "As far as I know, that underground palace is the only record we have of the times before 'The Purge', made before 'The Purge'. Even if it was just a bunch of rocks, it'll tell us more about the past than the current conjectures and theories we talked about. Besides, we need to entertain ourselves with something until he… Until Kuroko recovers enough to be able to speak in his own defence."

 

"...!" An extremely happy smile readily popped out into Kagami's features at hearing those words. He immediately jumped out of the bed and put himself in front of the healer. "When do we leave!?"

 

"Kiyoshi, Hyuuga, go request a couple of horses and a small carriage from the elders," instructed Kagetora. "Don't tell them we're going to the cursed land, obviously. Just tell them we're going on a small trip to gather some medicinal herbs. We shouldn't be away for more than a night. Riko, could you visit the inn in the North District and buy some food that can be easily transported and won’t spoil?"

 

"Right away!" acknowledged both Hyuuga and Kiyoshi in near-perfect unison. Riko only nodded in confirmation, a small frown on her features as she mumbled to herself that she could be the one cooking the food.

 

“Kagami, once Riko and the boys return, let’s go visit your house,” said Kagetora as soon as the three children exited the room to accomplish their corresponding tasks. “I need to have a word with your parents.”

 

“Eh? Why?” asked Kagami, gulping down hard at that unexpected development.

 

“If we’re spending the night out, we can’t just leave without warning your parents about it,” explained Kagetora, rolling his eyes around at the idiotic question. Just how dense was the brat, really? “I was thinking of introducing myself to them and feed them with some sort of story to explain yesterday’s events and the upcoming outing. I won’t say anything about Kuroko’s true nature for now, of course. But if you want to stay grounded until you become an old man, go right ahead.”

 

“I-I don’t!” yelped Kagami right away, shaking his head in denial as if his life depended on it. In a roundabout way, it actually did, for his mother’s anger was quite hard to sooth down. “Let’s go as soon as they get back!! Ah… But… Kagetora-san, why are you doing all of this for us…?”

 

“...” Kagetora lightly scratched his two-days beard as he thought about how to answer that question in particular. Should he just tell the brat a quick explanation or would it be better, in the long run, to be honest about it? He dropped his body on the chair and crossed his arms over his chest while leaning on the backrest. “I guess… I’m curious. Curious and afraid. Why did the five main lineages decide to kill our god? Was it because they wanted to go back to their worlds? Was it because our god went rogue and had to be stopped at all costs? We paint the other species as the villains but maybe their prosecution against humans is self-defence because of the events from ‘The Purge’? There’s so much we don’t know and the unknown is honestly scary. If Kuroko truly is the last ‘Unspoken’ alive, then he knows what happened during ‘The Purge’. When he fully regains his consciousness, what will happen? Were the ‘Unspoken’ just slaughtered by them… or were they killed to protect the balance of this world? If Kuroko is an enemy rather than a god… we, humans, are done for. We have no fighting prowess, our weapons are feeble and we have no magic ability to speak of.”

 

“Kagetora-san… what is it that you’re trying to say?” asked Kagami, taking a couple of sideways steps and positioning himself in between the healer and the bluenette.

 

“Kagami, you might have freed an innocent sentenced to eternal imprisonment in a forgotten underground palace… or you might have released a criminal sentenced to death for his evil deeds,” tried to explain Kagetora at the best of his abilities. He knew that the redhead had already grown quite attached to the bluenette so it would be a bitter medicine to swallow, but Kagami needed to be aware that there could be more to this whole story than it was known at the moment. It wasn’t that Kagetora wanted to suspect the bluenette and their god, but he had nothing to prove his innocence either.

 

“You’re kidding me, right?” spewed Kagami, an angry frown on his features. He tightly clenched his hands into fists. “Kuroko, a criminal? Now you’re the one talking bullshit! You didn’t see any of the paintings! You didn’t see how awful ‘The Purge’ looked! You didn’t see him crying, while all alone in that dusty, dark large saloon!! Would a criminal shed tears for his crimes? Would an evil god just stay put in place for centuries when there weren’t even guards around preventing him from escaping? If you don’t know anything, then fuckin’ learn about it! Don’t make stories up about Kuroko when you don’t even know him!”

 

“O-Okay, calm down,” tried Kagetora, raising his hands in surrender at the shouting child. “That was my bad. I was just saying that it’s a possibility, nothing more.”

 

“You can talk about your possibilities while in the underground palace,” said Kagami, turning his head away from the healer and stomping back to the bed. With a jump, he sat down next to the bluenette once again. “Until then, no bad talking about Kuroko!”

 

_ I give up. Dealing with stupid, dense brats is too tiring…, _ sighed Kagetora in the back of his head, getting up from the chair and motioning to the door. He also had his own preparations to make if he truly wanted to get to the bottom of the problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4)  
> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	28. Death VII

“Was it a good idea to leave Riko-san behind?” asked Kagami, his hands grabbing the saddle of the horse while he rode behind Kagetora - that had been his parents’ condition to get permission to go to the small ‘herb gathering’ trip. “She looked really pissed.”

 

“We need someone to look after Kuroko. Even if his wounds are completely gone, he needs to have someone nearby until he fully regains consciousness,” explained Kagetora, carefully leading the horse in the direction where Kagami was pointing the underground palace to be. Kiyoshi and Hyuuga rode another horse behind them, the former on the horse itself and the latter inside of the small cart being pulled by the horse. A goofy smile suddenly popped out on his lips. “Besides, there’s no way I would bring my baby girl to a dangerous place.”

 

_ There it is the idiot parent… _ , inwardly mumbled Hyuuga and Kiyoshi, lightly shaking their head in disapproval.

 

“Oh, I think we’re getting closer to the cursed land!” announced Kagami, his body perking up straight as he pointed to a nearby rock. “I remember passing by this area on my way there. Kagetora-san, there are all sorts of herbs here so you seriously should take some of them with you. Some may be useful for healers and whatnot.”

 

“I’ll be sure to check them out on our way back,” acknowledged Kagetora, his hands tightening around the reins. He had never seen the cursed land personally, but by the description he received from Kagami, he could gather that it was something resembling a desert or land that had become completely sterile. Deserts were natural formations, sterile land was usually the leftover of some sort of cataclysm. As they supposedly grew closer, however, Kagetora noticed a certain particularity. “Kagami, are you sure we’re getting closer?”

 

“Yeah, it’s right over there,” said Kagami, pointing forward with his index finger. He released the saddle and pulled one of his legs over it, smoothly sliding off of the horse and swiftly landing on the rocky ground with his feet. He started running towards the hole to the underground palace, now more easily guiding the horses and their riders in the correct direction. He came to a sudden stop. “WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!?”

 

The large hole was in the exact same place Kagami remembered crawling from - but the cursed land was no more.

 

Light green grass occupied the entirety of the previously dry, dark dirt, with some small colourful flower buds decorating its freshness. The dead pieces of wood that had been spread through the ground were now covered in dark green moss. Thin woody stumps were already starting to peek out from the grass, warning of the future growth of more trees.

 

“No… way…” mumbled Kagami, slowly crouching down his body and grabbing a handful of dirt. It wasn’t dry, dark dirt anymore. It was fluffy, moist soil, perfect to use for agricultural purposes. “Kagetora-san, what’s the meaning of this…?”

 

“I thought it might be a possibility, but this just proved it to be the truth,” said Kagetora, getting off of the horse and leading it to a close-by tree to tie the reins around its trunk. Kiyoshi was doing the same thing. “Kuroko was probably sucking up all life in this area to keep himself alive while so terribly wounded. That’s how he managed to survive around five hundred years with no water or food, and why nothing could grow in here, no matter what kind of crops our ancestors tried to plant. Now that he’s not here anymore, life could return.”

 

“Maybe that’s one more reason why he woke up,” added Kiyoshi, taking some ropes and leather harnesses from the cart together with Hyuuga. “He needed to sustain his life on his own after being taken out of the underground palace. He couldn’t afford to stay asleep for much longer and Kagami conveniently gave him the final push to wake up from his long slumber.”

 

“Yes, that’s true,” acknowledged Kagetora with some small nods of his head. He then loudly clapped his hands and also motioned towards the cart. “Okay, boys. Let’s get all the equipment ready as fast as possible and dive inside of the underground palace!”

 

In a matter of one hour, everything had been prepared. Leather harnesses had been tied around strong trees, linked to ropes that were later lowered inside of the hole on the ground. Several leather pouches had also been thrown inside of the hole already, their interiors filled with torches, water canteens and their food rations. Since Kuroko was no longer inside of the underground palace, Kagetora decided to take all torches with them as there were no guarantees that the corridor would lighten up on its own anymore, like Kagami said it had.

 

They put one of the torches in flames and threw it inside of the hole, carefully to not put their supplies on fire too. Then, one by one, the group climbed down the ropes and stepped inside of the underground palace.

 

“What did you do to make the blue-flamed torches to lighten up?” asked Kagetora, observing one of the mentioned objects stuck to the wall.

 

“I just touched the wall,” explained Kagami, fearlessly motioning one of his hands forward and touching the wall with his whole palm. A blue light immediately filled the entirety of the endless corridor, whether from their left side or right side. “I guess it still works even if Kuroko isn’t here. Or maybe there are more ‘Unspoken’ stuck here!”

 

“I hope not… It will be hard enough to hide one of them. Having to hide an army of them would be impossible,” sighed Kagetora, his eyes carefully studying the light blue flame that had magically (in the most literate of senses) appeared on the torch he had been observing. “Kagami, do you notice any difference in here too?”

 

“No, everything’s the same,” said Kagami, quickly looking around his surroundings. “I went in that direction. It’s where I found the big saloon where Kuroko was. I have no idea what’s on the opposite end of the corridor, though.”

 

“Very well, then,” acknowledged Kagetora, turning his body towards the direction the redhead was gesturing to. “Let’s first check out the big saloon where you found Kuroko, as well as all the wall paintings Kagami told us about. They’re the biggest source of information so far so we need to pay them as much attention as possible.”

 

“Okay,” acknowledged the three young boys in unison.

 

And so the travel towards the big saloon began. Opposite to the constant walking stride that Kagami had taken on his first visit to the underground corridor, they had barely walked 20 meters in one hour. Kagetora closely observed each painting, taking some notes and pointers on the small notebook he had brought with him. He more often than not exchanged some quick impressions with both Kiyoshi and Hyuuga, who seemed to have a certain degree of schooling despite being simple commoners. Kagami stayed uncharacteristically silent during those instances, simply listening to the conversations that he couldn’t quite follow most of the time.

 

It took them the entire morning (or so it seemed from their underground position) to reach the last few paintings, these ones featuring ‘The Purge’.

 

“You were right, Kagami,” admitted Kagetora, a deep frown on his features as he observed the bloody, savage painting where ‘The Unspoken’ were being brutally murdered by the five main lineages. “After personally seeing and studying these paintings, I can’t bring myself to believe that Kuroko did any evil, much less that he deserved to have his wings cruelly ripped out of his back and then be left here to die. None of them did!”

 

“If we find any more of ‘The Unspoken’ here, let’s take them with us, Kagetora-san…” requested Kiyoshi, a saddened expression on his features as he continued observing the last painting on the corridor.

 

“By the brutality of the painting alone, I doubt we’ll find more of them still alive,” pointed out Hyuuga, biting down at the inside of his cheek while his hands tightened into fists. “It was a miracle that Kuroko managed to survive all of this crap!”

 

“I told you,” bitterly said Kagami, his red eyes burning in anger at seeing the paintings for the second time. After having met Kuroko, after seeing him bleeding and crying all alone in the empty saloon, after talking with him and taking him out of the underground palace, after giving him a new name and acknowledging his existence… how could he not be filled with rage and anguish? How could he not come to despise the five main lineages even more?

 

After refilling their stomach with both food and more water, they went for their final objective on that side of the corridor: the big saloon.

 

“Wow, you really weren’t exaggerating about the size of his hair,” gasped Hyuuga, lifting a part of the long blue coloured hair that had been left decorating the cracked floor after having been cut. “But you could have done a better job at it, Kagami. That haircut looks dreadful, even for a man.”

 

“I didn’t exactly have a pair of scissors on me at the time, you know!?” yelped Kagami in his own defence.

 

“Was it over there that you found Kuroko?” asked Kagetora, standing in front of the large pool of blood more or less situated in the right side of the saloon. He crouched down and first observed the cracked floor underneath his feet. It seemed to be white marble, much like the half-destroyed pillars all around them. He lightly touched the blood with the tips of his fingers and then slowly rubbed it in between them. There was no indication of how old the blood was, seeing as there were no signs of coagulation or dryness in it. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought that a few hundreds of humans had been squeezed dry a couple of seconds ago.

 

“If Kagami jumped with Kuroko from that height with no injuries, then this must be at least 10 meters deep,” pointed out Kiyoshi, standing next to the crouched down healer. “How much blood would be needed to fill a pool of 10 meters of depth with these dimensions?”

 

“More than I feel comfortable with…” sighed Kagetora, cleaning the blood on the fabric of his clothes while straightening his body once again. As he did so, something flickered on the corner of his eye. “Hm?”

 

“What is it, Kagetora-san?”  asked Kiyoshi, tilting his head as he saw Kagetora lean towards the blood pool a second time.

 

“This…” mumbled Kagetora, observing the bloodied small stone he had picked up from the pool. He stretched his shirt forward and used the fabric to wipe the blood. When the stone flickered even more strongly against the red light of their torches, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “HOLY SHIT!!”

 

“What? What happened?” yelled Hyuuga, running together with Kagami towards the healer after hearing the uncharacteristic cussing.

 

“It’s a diamond!” said Kagetora, giving a short run towards one of the crumbling pillars and strongly rubbing the small stone on its surface. The marble got countless scratches but the transparent mineral was spotless. “This small stone worths more than ten or so villages like ours!”

 

“Oh,” simply said Kagami, taking a peek at the small stone being held in Kagetora’s hand. “So that’s the thing that was constantly falling on the blood when Kuroko was up there.”

 

“...........................WHAT!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	29. Death VIII

“We came here to know more but I think we know too much now…” sighed Kagetora, lightly rubbing his shallow beard with the pads of his fingers. He and the three boys were sat down on the cold cracked floor of the large saloon, taking another timely short break to eat something.

 

“But aren’t you always saying that knowledge is a good thing to have, Kagetora-san?” pointed out Hyuuga, biting down hard on a tough slice of dried meat.

 

“Knowledge is a good thing when the right people have it,” corrected Kagetora, giving a quick swing to his water canteen afterwards. “I have no materialistic desires whatsoever. All I need is my Riko to be happy. If not, I wouldn’t have adopted you two orphans and I would currently live in a wealthy kingdom as the royal family’s private healer. I would live a safe, wealthy life if I did that. But I think there are more important things than perpetual safety and money so having me know that Kuroko’s tears transform into diamonds doesn’t matter all that much, in a general way. But imagine if a money-grabbing human got to know about it? What if a sentient creature got to know about it? Kuroko would spend the rest of his life crying.”

 

“Would there be anyone stupid enough to rob from a god?” asked Kagami, hungrily chewing at the dried meat. “I mean, the diamonds belong to Kuroko, right? Hyuuga-san mentioned divine punishment and whatnot. Only morons would force Kuroko to cry to be able to take the diamonds away from him.”

 

“Stupidity knows no limits, you should know that better than anyone,” said Kagetora, rolling his eyes around at the redhead’s words. Maybe idiots weren’t exactly aware that they are idiots… He settled down his water canteen and grabbed a slice of dried meat too. “Besides, greediness can turn smart people into idiots. It clouds our mind and makes stupid schemes seem extremely appealing. It even makes people stop fearing possible repercussions.”

 

“Kagetora-san… You’re actually a really good and smart person,” mumbled Kagami, his eyes wide open in surprise.

 

“You’re quite lucky that I am,” said Kagetora, getting slightly irked at that unconscious jab. “If it had been any other healer, they might have killed you and kept Kuroko all to themselves.”

 

“Kuroko wouldn’t let himself be used by a nasty person,” pointed out Kagami, resuming with the eating once again. “He’s a good guy.”

 

“How do you know?” asked Kiyoshi, who had remained quiet throughout most of the conversation as he also thought about the subject on his own.

 

“Gut instinct,” shortly answered Kagami, giving a quick shrug with his shoulders.

 

“Gut instinct, he says,” snorted Kagetora, shaking his head around just the slightest. “Simpletons really have easy, stress-free lives, don’t they…? Anyway, guys. Let’s go back to work. Being underground is making it hard to tell what time it is. We need to go check on the horses and decide whether or not we’ll explore the opposite end of the corridor today or tomorrow morning, depending on how late it is already.”

 

The three boys nodded their heads in acknowledgement and started storing the remaining food and water canteens in the leather pouches. As they busied themselves with it, Kagetora once again waltzed to the blood pool, his facial expression as serious as when healing a seriously injured patient.

 

“...” Kagetora silently observed the blood for a good couple of minutes. He then threw the diamond to its depths and went for his water canteen, which he also emptied on the floor. He crouched down and partially filled it with the crimson liquid.

 

“You’re going to take some blood with you, Kagetora-san?” asked Kiyoshi, returning to the healer’s side and taking a peek at what he was doing.

 

“The blood isn’t drying or coagulating in the least,” said Kagetora, closing the water canteen and putting it inside of the leather pouch that he was using to carry the small notebook and his writing utensils. “It probably has some magic properties. That’s something I’d like to research.”

 

“I see,” acknowledged Kiyoshi, his gaze momentarily remaining in the blood pool. “Is it a good idea though? If it’s discovered that the blood of a god carries usable magic properties, then it's possible that… It might even have been the true cause of ‘The Purge’...”

 

“All the more reason to research it,” readily said Kagetora, his gaze growing exponentially serious at that statement. “Just like Kagami stumbled in here, any other person may find it. Especially now that the cursed land has disappeared. If others find both the blood and the diamonds and link it to the paintings on the corridor, they may conclude that one of ‘The Unspoken’ is still alive. They may try to hunt down Kuroko’s location to prove themselves right, maybe even to use him, like we were talking about. And that is applied to both humans and to any creature that has a brain developed enough to know one plus one is two. We need to find a viable solution for the large amounts of both blood and diamonds. Leaving them lying around here is too great of a risk.”

 

“Now I see. That makes sense indeed,” acknowledged Kiyoshi, a relaxed grin surfacing on his features. “You truly are Riko’s father.”

 

“Heh, what are you saying, brat, after all this time?” scoffed Kagetora, a small grin also popping out on his lips. He quickly ruffled Kiyoshi’s hair and walked back to the remaining group. He grabbed both Hyuuga and Kagami by the shoulders and started pushing them towards the corridor’s opening. “Shall we go, brats? The first mission is to check on the horses and our cart, the next mission is to explore the other side of the corridor if we still have time today!”

 

“Then I’ll go check the horses!” said Kagami, immediately running off into the corridor to get to the hole on the ground/ceiling as fast as possible. “This way we have more time to explore!!”

 

“Kagami has so much energy…” sighed Hyuuga, feeling slightly tired just by watching the redhead run as fast as possible through the long corridor. “I almost feel as if he’s sapping up my energy…”

 

“It’s good to have someone around that’s so lively and headstrong, though,” pointed out Kiyoshi, an amused smile on his features as he also followed the redhead with his eyes. “It makes our days more lively too. And he has a strong sense of morality and virtue, which goes quite well with how headstrong he is.”

 

“He does need some good qualities as compensation for the lacking brain,” added Kagetora, nodding his head at both sides of the conversation. “Or maybe he just acts faster than he can think. He has no delicacy so that personality of his might come in handy when it comes to making hard choices. He won’t dabble about it for too long and will just go along with his gut feeling.”

 

“Well… if he managed to take Kuroko out of here all on his own, with nearly no tools at his disposal, then he mustn’t be  _ that _ stupid,” mumbled Hyuuga in acknowledgement.

 

“...an! Kagetora-san!”

 

“He already got there…?” sighed Kagetora, feeling slightly old due to the redhead’s speed and energy to carry him all the way to the hole without needing a pause. He surely wouldn’t be able to pull such a feat at his age.

 

“Kagetora-san, there’s smoke!” continued yelling Kagami at the top of his lungs from the hole. “There’s a lot of smoke coming from the village!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	30. Death IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guys~ Just a little warning for this chapter, as I usually do when certain things happen :D
> 
> Warning: gore, violence and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
> 
> I hope you enjoy ;3

“Kagami, you go check on your parents,” yelled Kagetora, his voice barely audible because of the fast galloping of the horses and the frightened screams that could already be heard coming from the burning village. “I’m sorry, Kiyoshi, I know you’re also worried about Riko and Kuroko but…”

 

“It’s okay, Kagetora-san,” answered back Kiyoshi, ridding the same horse as the redhead, who was to lead the animal in his house’s direction. “Horses can’t carry three people and it would be unfair to have four people go to Riko and leave Kagami to worry about his parents’ well being.”

 

“Thanks,” acknowledged Kagami, his hands tightening around the horse’s reins. He gave a quick kick to the horse’s torso with his heels, urging the animal to speed up even further.

 

“After you get your parents, let’s meet at my house!” said Kagetora right before the two horses parted ways at the village’s entrance. “Don’t bother with your things, just bring the people!”

 

Kagami continued leading the horse in his house’s direction, doing his best to not focus on what was happening in the street, inside of the houses, in the entire village.

 

A big portion of the wooden buildings was burning, red and orange large flames licking the walls and ceiling and releasing thick black smoke, which then mixed with the grey ashes flying around in the air. Countless people were running in the streets, trying to escape the large black dogs that relentlessly chased after them. The black dogs themselves seemed to be made of smoke, the way they suddenly changed from a physical large mass of raw muscle to a shapeless cloud that travelled faster than humans could run. Several corpses already decorated the dirt ground, the sickening sound of bones cracking and flesh being chewed floating in the air as the beasts feasted themselves after the hunt.

 

_ Mom, Dad, please, please be okay!, _ inwardly mumbled Kagami again and again, his red eyes stuck in their current objective. He quickly rubbed his stinging eyes and urged the horse to run even faster, now that they were at a short distance of his still intact house. There were also a couple of black dogs chasing after them so they needed as much leeway from them as possible if they wanted to get inside of the house before they had their limbs chewed out.

 

“We’re here!” said Kagami, commanding the horse into a hasty stop. He and Kiyoshi readily jumped out of the horse, nearly stumbling down due to the momentum of their initial speed, and dashed to the closed door. Kagami immediately burst the door open, yelling at the top of his lungs. “Mom! Da-”

 

_ Splash. _ As soon as Kagami took a step inside of the house, his feet splashed around in a thick, sticky liquid. From up ahead could be heard the same sickening sounds of beasts feeding themselves: the sharp teeth scratching and breaking bones, bloodied flesh being ripped chunk by chunk, organs being pushed to the wooden floor in search for more supple meat.

 

“M-Mom…” whispered Kagami with a trembling voice. He took another step forward, the already half-eaten corpse of his mother spread on the floor right in front of him. From the corner of his eyes, he could see his father’s legs, the white of the bones visible after having been partially eaten from their flesh. “D-Dad…”

 

“Kagami, I’m really sorry but we need to go,” intervened Kiyoshi, a deep frown on his face as he saw the morbid feast going on inside of the house - the black dogs didn’t even stop eating at their sudden entrance. He grabbed Kagami by the waist and pulled him outside of the house, always on the lookout for the black dogs that had been chasing them down the street.

 

Kiyoshi took hold of the axe by the front door and cut the reins keeping Kagami’s family’s horse stuck inside of the small roofed side area. The frightened animal readily ran in a total frenzy, trying to escape the black dogs. The poor animal would have to serve as a distraction to the starving beasts.

 

“Kagami, we need to go to Kagetora-san’s house. Okay?” said Kiyoshi, placing his hands on top of the redhead’s shoulders and giving them a strong squeeze as an attempt to get him out of his shocked semblance. “I understand that you just lost your parents in such a horrible way but you haven’t lost everything yet. You still have us and you still have Kuroko to take care of. Are you going to abandon him and let yourself be eaten by the black dogs? Would your parents want you to be eaten or would they want you to fight and keep on living?”

 

“K-Kiyoshi-san…” breathed Kagami, slowly lifting his head to look at the older boy. He gave a small nod in acknowledgement and gulped down hard. “Let’s go. They’ll need as many people as possible to safely get Kuroko out of the house without being attacked or seen by anyone or anything.”

 

“Good,” acknowledged Kiyoshi, giving one last squeeze to his shoulders before releasing the redhead.

 

They quickly mounted the impatient horse once again and made their way back to the village’s entrance through the same streets as before. They then turned right towards the main square and central area where the healer’s establishment was located.

 

Kagami’s eyes kept on stinging because of the smoke all around them, but now he had to rub his tears away together with the prickling pain.

 

The central area of the village was as messy and destroyed as the outer areas surrounded by forest. Several small groups of people tried to fight off the black dogs while the remaining survivors prepared carts and horses to take all of them out of the burning village, but the dark beasts wouldn’t cease their attacks. One by one, they bit down on the humans’ limbs and dragged them around on the ground to a further location, later on killing them and starting to devour their corpses in front of the remaining groups.

 

Morale was low and panic had overcome reason and strategy. The villagers threw away teamwork and attempted to save their own lives, even if at the cost of those that were around them.

 

“Kagetora-san!” called Kiyoshi, both him and Kagami getting off of the horse and running inside of the healer’s house. The inside of the house was also an utter mess, but for completely different reasons. Several wounded people sought help from the healer, most simply a shelter to escape the black dogs.

 

“Teppei, Kagami!” yelped Riko in response, her clothes dirty with blood and hands filled with white bandages. When she saw only the two of them and the disheartened expression in the redhead’s face, she didn’t even need to ask about his parents. “Please go help Dad! We need to get all of these people out of here. There’s too much smoke and houses burning. It’s just a matter of time before the fire spreads into ours! Kagami, Kuroko’s inside of the usual bedroom.”

 

“Got it!” acknowledged the two of them at the same time. While Kiyoshi went for the inner chambers to search for Kagetora and receive the next instructions, Kagami ran up the stairs and went inside of the mentioned bedroom.

 

Kuroko was peacefully sat down on the bed, his teal eyes still vacantly staring into the distance.

 

“Time to go for a little journey on the outside world, Kuroko,” said Kagami, tugging the blankets on the end of the bed and putting them on top of the bluenette. He gently wrapped the blankets around his motionless body, carefully to not choke him to death underneath all of the fabric. “It’s just me and you against the world now, Kuroko. Those guys too, of course, if they don’t mind us tagging along for the time being. I’ll go check if there’s any cart or horse available for-”

 

All of a sudden, a storm seemed to have broken free on the first floor. Crashing sounds, glass breaking and people screaming all bundled up together to form a cacophony of terror. When hair-splitting barks and low growls joined the orchestra, Kagami immediately knew that the last safe haven had been broken in.

 

Kagami halted all of his movements and tried to keep his breathing rhythm as calm as possible. The noise downstairs continued, accompanied by the ever so soft scratching of sharp nails on the wooden stairs… then on the corridor’s wood boards… then a couple of sniffs from the other side of the closed door.

 

Black smoke started penetrating inside of the room from the small gap underneath the door. Soon enough, a large black dog had morphed inside of the closed room, dribbles of bloodied saliva leaking out from in between the beast’s pointy teeth.

 

Kagami slowly took several steps back, his heart thundering inside of his ribcage. Even so, when he came to a halt, he stopped next to the bed, in front of the sat down bluenette covered in blankets from head to toes.

 

The black dog menacingly growled, showing the white of his pointy teeth even further. It took a step forward and then stopped once again, its body lowering a fraction as if preparing to jump in the bed’s direction.

 

“...!!” The moment the black dog jumped in his direction, Kagami reflexively lifted his arms and protected his head. He closed his eyes as fast as possible, trying to prevent the ugly black mutt from being the last thing he saw before dying.

 

However, he felt no pain.

 

Slowly, extremely hesitantly, Kagami opened one of his eyes and took a peek to what was in front of him through the  gap in between his arms. The black dog was frozen in place, its body floating in the air and mouth wide open to gobble down its next meal nearly whole.

 

“Eh…?” gasped Kagami, lowering his arms to more closely observe the weird event happening right before his eyes. When he looked around his surroundings, his body jumped in a startle at seeing Kuroko standing behind him, his teal eyes still vacant and lifeless as he looked forward. “K-Kuroko…?”

 

Kuroko walked forward, passing by the black dog frozen in midair as if he had not noticed it was there. Not knowing what was happening, Kagami awkwardly followed after him, nearly stumbling down on his own feet. Good thing he did for the black dog started moving once again and came crashing against the bed rather than the intending prey. A second later, the beast’s body burst into light blue flames, a pained whining escaping its scorched throat.

 

Kuroko continued walking, the closed door opening on its own to allow passage to the corridor. From the corridor could be seen the carnage happening on the first floor. But the moment the bluenette came into view, leisurely walking down the stairs, the black dogs halted the attack and turned their large heads in his direction.

 

The beasts didn’t have enough time to run from the building before their bodies started being consumed by light blue flames. Once the black shadows disappeared from the middle of the flames, the flames zoomed out of the house at the speed of light, incinerating the black dogs hunting on the village grounds.

 

The dark of the night, painted in flaming orange and ashy grey, disappeared all of a sudden. The burning houses were restored to their original state, no traces whatsoever of previously being consumed by fire. The horses that were running around in a panic, attempting to escape the dark beasts, became as calm as if they were enjoying some grass in a green field. Countless light blue campfires adorned the ground, burning the last of the black dogs until nothing of them was left behind.

 

Nothing except the corpses of all the lives they had already claimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> You can show your support for my fanfictions and help me achieve my goals of self-publication for original stories in Ko-fi!


	31. Death X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I-I'm not crying... I'm definitely not crying here... *sniff*
> 
> Hello, guys! This is the last chapter of this small past arc. Next chapter, we're back to the current timeline~ So yeah, that means Akashi's back to pull at our heartstrings!! Yay! (or maybe... not yay... it depends on your perspective ^.^')
> 
> On a side note, Mafy's Patreon is now up and running! Bonus stories, early access to chapters, polls, even some exclusive access to some of your favourite oldies (namely, yes, Shattered Miracles in its fanfiction format) - that's some of the things you'll be able to see there :D  
> Links at the end of the chapter~

“C’mon, Kuroko! Hurry up!” cheerfully called Kagami, holding the bluenette’s hand and hurriedly tugging it to make their slow-paced walking faster. Before them was the former cursed land, now a field of light green grass decorated with flowers of all kinds of shapes and colours. “We’re almost there, just a bit longer!”

 

“Kagami, stop rushing him so much!” admonished Riko, her hands on her hips as he indignantly observed the rude way the redhead was acting towards their saviour. “You know that Kuroko-kun still isn’t able to walk very well!”

 

“Kagami knows, don’t worry,” chuckled Kiyoshi, walking slightly behind Riko. Hyuuga simply snorted, lightly shaking his head in disapproval.

 

“Don’t go too far into the forest!” reminded them Kagetora, still tying the horses’ reins to the nearby trees. “There might be some black dogs still waltzing around!”

 

“Okay~!!”

 

“Haa… I feel that the number of children around me keeps on increasing…” sighed Kagetora, a small smile on his lips as he observed the young group sitting down in the grass and frolicking around with one another. His next words were well intended, but he couldn’t help the slight bitterness that it caused in his tongue. “At the rate they’re increasing, I might as well open an orphanage.”

 

_ Riko, who lost her mother, and I, who lost my wife, to a demon attack… Kiyoshi, who lost his family to the Tsuchigumo clan… Hyuuga, whose parents were killed during a sudden attack by harpies… And now Kagami, who had his parents eaten by black dogs right before his eyes… _

 

“...was Teikou like this when you were still our god, Kuroko…?” softly mumbled Kagetora, a pained expression on his face as he observed the motionless bluenette - he remained sat down on the grass, his frosty teal eyes glancing to nowhere in particular.

 

“Aida-dono.”

 

“...!” At the sudden call of his name, Kagetora ripped his eyes away from the flower field and looked in the forest’s direction. From its depths appeared a small group of villagers.

 

“We have concluded the assembly,” said a young man, not past his mid-twenties. He was the new village chief, in a direct line succession to the former chief, who had been killed amid the black dog’s assault. Most of the council members were quite young, as they had been quicker at running away from the starving beasts than their elderly predecessors. The young man bowed at Kagetora, soon followed by the other members. “We’d like to present our heartfelt gratitude towards yesterday’s events. Most of us are alive today due to your wonderful skills as a healer, as well as the entirety of the surviving villagers. You have our eternal gratitude, as a matter of fact. It might not be much, but we’d like you to accept this small token as a thank you for all of your services so far. All of the villagers gathered together and offered as much as their hearts felt it was fair.”

 

“...” Kagetora silently observed as one of the council members stepped forward, carrying a round leather pouch on his hands. He readily presented it to the healer and Kagetora accepted it after a small bow. “I was only doing my job as a healer. And I guess you’re only doing your job as the new village chief, too.”

 

“Y-Yes, well…” awkwardly acknowledged the young man, nervously licking his lips. “You see… Your services and performance were always of the utmost level. You have helped the village immensely throughout your stay. But… We would like to request you to leave. All of you.”

 

“Is this because of Kuroko?” asked Kagetora, an eyebrow slowly getting arched on his brows as he heard those incredulous words. “Riko and I might have healed the wounded, but it was Kuroko who saved the village. You show your gratitude by kicking your saviour out?”

 

“T-This village is a human settlement,” explained the young man, taking a couple of steps back due to the older man’s noteworthy anger. “H-Humans cannot use magic. Hence, he does not belong in the midst of us. If he is to leave on his own, you and the young children are welcome to stay, Aida-dono. But not h-him… It’s safer for us and the village if he leaves…”

 

“When exactly did we become such a cowardly species…?” said Kagetora, throwing the leather pouch back to the council members in utter disgust. “None of you deserves the second chance in life that you got. We will leave and we will not take any of your gratitude with us. Surviving with the money given to us by spineless, ungrateful men would make us the same as you lot. We will gather what is ours and leave as soon as day breaks tomorrow.”

 

“Y-You have our than-”

 

“I don’t want to hear anything else about your shitty thanks and gratitude,” interrupted Kagetora, grabbing the young man by the collar of his clothes. A deep frown creased his features. “None of those words should be directed at me. You should be saying them to Kuroko!”

 

“P-Please excuse us…!” yelped the young man, forcibly pushing Kagetora’s hand away from his clothes and immediately turning tail, together with the also frightened council members. Just as quickly as they appeared, they returned to their reconstructed houses like the feeble, easily scared mice they were.

 

“Unexpected problems keep popping out left and right…” sighed Kagetora in exasperation, sideways glancing at the hole in the ground, already half-covered by vegetation. “And we even haven’t gotten the chance to explore the other side of the underground palace or give a new house to the endless amounts of blood and diamonds stored in the saloon…”

 

Kagetora released one more sigh and started walking towards the group of children. He already knew that all four of them would agree with his decision to leave the village. Kagami had been extremely attached to Kuroko from the moment he found him, but Riko, Kiyoshi and Hyuuga had also gotten fond of the bluenette with time, especially after he had saved all of them from sure death. He would have also liked to hear Kuroko’s opinion on the matter, but although he could already stay standing and walk, Kuroko had yet to utter a single word. He might not even understand the current human language, for all Kagetora knew.

 

“Riko, brats, we need to ta-” started Kagetora, but he was suddenly interrupted when Kagami abruptly jumped up from the grass as if he had just been bitten by a snake in the ass.

 

“It’s done!!!” yelled Kagami, a huge happy grin on his lips as he raised in the air a white flower crown as high as possible.

 

Kagami awkwardly cleared his throat and lightly straightened his clothes, extremely carefully so that the roughly finished flower crown on his other hand wouldn’t come undone. The grin disappeared from his features and was replaced by a serious demeanour as he approached the sat down bluenette.

 

“Um… This is for you, Kuroko,” said Kagami, slowly getting on his knees in front of Kuroko. He gently put the white flower crown on top of his pale hands and withdrew his hands back to himself, which were placed on the grass afterwards as he bowed down. “Thank you very much for saving me from that black dog, Kuroko. Thank you for rescuing us from all of those starved animals and thank you for restoring the village back to normal. You were awesome yesterday! Really… Thank you very much…!”

 

“...ank yo…”

 

“Eh…?” Kagami suddenly lifted his head when a small whisper caressed his ears.

 

Kuroko was gently smiling at the redhead, one of his small, pale hands holding onto the odd-shaped flower crown.

 

“...!” At seeing that gorgeous smile, tears started overflowing from Kagami’s red eyes. He threw his body forward and tightly hugged Kuroko, causing the bluenette to tumble on his back on the refreshing grass. “Kuroko…! I…! Sniff… I swear I’ll always, always stay by your side! I swear I’ll protect you and keep you company for the rest of my life! Uuuuh…!”

 

“That would be an i-impossible job for you alone!” said Riko, accusatorily pointing her index finger at the two of them as tears gently caressed her cheeks. “So you can also have me when you get sick of babysitting Kagami!”

 

“Yeah, there’s no way Kagami would do a good job at it,” acknowledged Hyuuga, softly sniffing in between his words.

 

“The more, the merrier, as they said,” added Kiyoshi as all three of them darted running in their direction and dropped their bodies on top of Kagami’s.

 

“Argh, you’re killing me here!!” yelped Kagami, uncomfortable shifting his body around as he found himself squashed by the three older children at mid-attempt to hug Kuroko. “Y-You can have your turn later! Beat  _ it now!” _

 

_ “No way, you beat it if you don’t like it, Bakagami!” _

 

_ “Don’t be a cheapskate, Kagami.” _

 

_ “The more, the merrier.” _

 

“Those were really messy and noisy days, weren’t they…?” sighed Kagami, his eyes stuck on the white flower crown on his hands. A gentle breeze crossed Seirin’s green fields, rustling the grass he was sitting on. The melodious chirping of the birds and the burbling of the small river made that spot the perfect place to relax. But an anxious mind and heart would never be able to enjoy its peacefulness.

 

“Kagami!” called Riko, wheezing just the slightest after having run all the way there from the half-destroyed palace. “Furihata has finally regained consciousness!”

 

“I’m on it,” acknowledged Kagami, gently placing the flower crown on the grass and picking up his sword.

 

_ No matter how many years pass by, no matter how much our circumstances may change, I will never throw away the promise I made to you that day, Tetsuya. Especially not because of the demonic spawn that cursed your existence into nothingness! _

 

**Death - END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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	32. Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> Together with the beginning of another "arc", By Blood and Iron is also now available in Patreon, with early access to the newest chapters as soon as they're written :3
> 
> I hope you continue to enjoy this story! Even with the endless heavy angst that's about to come...

“That is Nebu-chan’s report from his visit to the Kingdom of Yosen,” said Mibuchi, returning the parchment paper to the side of their body after having finished reviewing its contents in the presence of the king. “So as to summarise all of the official visits to the main kingdoms… I believe you should expect to see the five of them very soon. Probably without any warning, too.”

 

“I did tell you that I covet a personal meeting with the likes of them so whether a forewarning arrives in advance or not, I will open them my doors,” dismissed Akashi, comfortably sat down on his throne - a massive, intricate black stone construction, regally decorated with gold and shining red precious stones. It was a throne that could not leave that room for it had been built together with the opulent demonic palace.

 

“Um… Sei-chan, do you really intend on exposing everything regarding the Kingdom of Seirin to them?” hesitantly inquired Mibuchi, their fingers uncomfortably playing with the parchment paper. “If they see  _ him _ still alive… it might complicate your current plans.”

 

“Not once did I thought about earning their cooperation, Reo,” said Akashi, his heterochromatic eyes tightening slightly as he observed the incubus. “They are the kings of their own kingdoms now, to which they owe their total loyalty to. None of them is an ally to my person as they were centuries ago. They are, and have always been, an obstacle to my agenda. Having them see --- alive and in good health will hardly change that. If anything, it will only drive me to pursue the completion of my plans more nimbly.”

 

“I-If that is so…” acknowledged Mibuchi, albeit with still a remaining hesitation coating their words and small nod. “This was the last report to expose to you, My King. Is there any other matter you’d like to discuss with me, or with any other council member?”

 

“This is all,” declared Akashi, getting up from his throne and walking towards the side door placed at the same level as the royal seat’s platform. He disappeared in its insides.

 

Akashi continued to quickly cross the inner corridors of his palace, the red velvety cape on his back fluttering behind him. After long minutes of turning left and right, climbing stairs and crossing roofed bridges that connected the several buildings and sections of the royal palace, Akashi came to a stop in front of an empty wall.

 

As he motioned his hand forward in the wall’s direction, a monotone voice made him halt.

 

“Kyah, the Demon King looks so scary today. I might just die if he looks me in the eye.”

 

“If such was possible, you’d be the first ghost in the long history of this and countless other worlds to experience death a second time, Chihiro,” said Akashi, his frown becoming even more prominent in his fine features. “If you have the awareness that I am not in the best of moods, then do not tempt my wrath even further. I do not need any more talking beings haunting my days.”

 

“Is it as you say, My King,” acknowledged Mayuzumi Chihiro, his ghostly body going through a wall as if it wasn’t there in the first place. His feet didn’t touch the floor, his semi-transparent body simply remained floating in the air as the centuries-old ghost that he was. His pale face remained completely void of emotion as he fluttered behind Akashi. “But if I may have the permission to correct Your Highness, I’m currently the only talking being who can haunt your days. He’ll only be able to do it after you lift the sleeping spell you put on him.”

 

“...” Intending on ignoring Mayuzumi until he got tired of bothering him, Akashi once again motioned his hand forward and touched the wall. The black stones disappeared and were replaced by a wooden door. He let himself in, not bothering too much that the ghost was still following him around.

 

On the other side of the door, there was a wide room, lit only by the countless candles on the chandeliers up in the extremely high ceiling. Save from it, the only other object inside of the spacious division was a dosel bed, its red curtains closed to fully hide its slumbering occupant.

 

Slowly, as if intending to keep yet another visit a secret from the fast asleep bluenette, Akashi opened one of the curtains all but a small gap. The bare enough to be able to catch a glimpse of the bluenette. Just the enough to reassure his guilty consciousness that what he had brought from the human kingdom wasn’t just a trick played by his own brain.

 

Mayuzumi loudly sighed, his body silently floating above the dosel bed. His semi-transparent body went through the wooden roof of the bed and he remained floating in the area beside the sleeping bluenette, his arms crossed over his chest as he sternly looked at Akashi. “Five centuries have passed and you’re still the same. No, should I be more precise and just accuse you of remaining the same hopeless demon since several millenniums ago? It is extremely frustrating to look at you two. It has always been.”

 

“No one has ever told you to look,” pointed out Akashi, his hand slowly sliding down against the red fabric. He took half a step forward and grew closer to the bed. He extended one of his hands forward once again and lightly touched the bluenette’s head, carefully parting his hair from his pale features.

 

“You would have to be blind to not see,” deadpanned Mayuzumi, inwardly rolling his eyes around at that rebuke. “Which is why I have always questioned both of your intellectual capacities. One can’t be this dense. Or stubborn. Or both. Well, not that the affairs of the Demon King with Teikou’s creator have anything to do with me. I am but a ghost, forever a spectator to this world’s events.”

 

“Do me the favour of being a spectator to what is  _ outside _ of this room of mine,” warned Akashi, throwing a quick glare at Mayuzumi. “I already told you that I am not in the mood to entertain you.”

 

“Heh, you never are,” snorted Mayuzumi, looking down at the redhead with his blank grey eyes. He once again went through the roof of the dosel bed and floated in the door’s direction, only halting when right before the wooden surface. “If anyone was to see you right now, they’d say the Demon King is scared. It’s not like you to hesitate, Akashi.”

 

“But I am afraid,” softly whispered Akashi, gently cupping the side of the bluenette’s face. “I am affrighted of you, ---.”

 

_ You were supposed to be gone from this world that you birthed, so why do you still walk amid your children? _ , inwardly asked Akashi as he carefully sat down on the bed, trying to not make the smallest of noises with it.  _ There are no more Unspoken in these lands, why did you remain behind? After having slaughtered your own and having cruelly crushed your existence, why do I still feel so miserably happy for having a second chance to see you? _

 

“If you are still alive… then why am I not able to call your name, ---?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	33. Strength II

“Out I go~” softly mumbled Kise Ryouta, his head peeking out of the teleportation hole and spilling his long blonde hair over a bright red carpet. After his golden eyes surveyed the throne room, he also removed his body from the black round space crack. He neatly arranged his blue and white royal vest, afterwards combing his hair with his fingers - always careful so that no strand would get caught on his long, pointy elf ears.

 

“What brings you back here, handsome boy~?”

 

“Eeek!!” yelped Kise, his body flinching in a noteworthy fashion at the voice that suddenly addressed him. He straightened his body and immediately turned around on his heels, a huge smile on his lips. “Hello, Auntie~”

 

“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that!?” admonished Mibuchi, quickly slapping the back of the blonde’s head. They puffed out their cheeks at the same time as they put their hands on their hips. “I’ve told time and time again to call me ‘Reo-nee’, haven’t I?”

 

“Yes, Auntie~” acknowledged Kise, once again smiling brightly at the incubus while leisurely rubbing the area where he had been hit.

 

“Your brains are an offence to your good looks...” sighed Mibuchi in utter exasperation, their head shaking slightly in disappointment. After one more sigh, they straightened their back and looked at the newcomer with imposing stature. “What brings the king of the elves to Rakuzan, the land of demons?”

 

“Didn’t Akashicchi ask us to come?” pointed out Kise, tilting his head as he kept looking straight at the incubus. “I didn’t have much to do so I came as soon as I could run away from Kasamatsu-senpai.”

 

“That does not sound like you have nothing to do,” pointed out Mibuchi, offering a silent apology and thank you to Kasamatsu Yukio, the short-tempered elf that had enough patience to look after the good-for-nothing-except-decorative-purposes elf king. “Shall I go announce your presence to My King?”

 

“There is no such need,” interrupted Akashi, appearing from the side door next to his throne. “I have been aware of Ryouta’s presence in Rakuzan from the moment the portal connected with my domain.”

 

“Akashicchi~!!!” excitedly squealed Kise, a huge smile once again popping out. “How many decades has it been since I last saw you, again?”

 

“Far too few, I’m afraid,” said Akashi, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He then gestured towards the door he had come from. “Do make haste, Ryouta. We have a plethora of matters to confer about.”

 

“Okay~” happily acknowledged Kise, nearly skipping as he walked towards the redhead. As he passed by Akashi, however, his demeanour became much more mature, much more like the title of king that he owned. He sideways glanced at the redhead and remarked, “You truly must have plenty to talk about, if you have called all of us to Rakuzan after ordering your servants to drop such ultimatum on our doors.”

 

“I do not forswear myself when I speak of a packed schedule,” confessed Akashi, walking beside the blonde as they crossed the first of many corridors to come. “If I have so many adjutants around me, it is expected of them to take care of the least important matters.”

 

“It goes without saying that the Demon King considers declaring war to all kingdoms to be a ‘least important matter’,” scoffed Kise, rolling his eyes around. “Are you serious about it, Akashicchi? Are you really going to declare war to all kingdoms and lands and attempt to conquer them?”

 

“Attempt? I  _ will _ conquer this whole world,” declared Akashi, no hesitation or doubts on his bold statements. “Teikou is in need of yet another remoulding. I am confident that my capabilities as a ruler would enable me to expand my domain to its entirety.”

 

“Are you, now?” acknowledged Kise, a mischievous smirk lightly tugging at the corner of his lips. After centuries of interaction with the Demon King, Kise had yet to figure out from where exactly did all of his boldness and poise come. “Akashicchi… You may be someone that I could go as far as to call ‘father’, as you raised and nurtured my growth when I found myself all alone in the new world. However, do not misunderstand. I will never give you, or anyone else, my kingdom. Kaijou is the land of elves, an eternal paradise to our species. Demons will not be welcomed in said paradise if it’s to become its conquerer. If you want to rule over everyone and everything that badly, then you will have to crush me first. I believe the others will be of the same opinion as me.”

 

“I did not expect it to be any other way, Ryouta,” acknowledged Akashi, sideways glancing at the challenging expression on the elf king’s face. “However, for as much as it pleases me to know that I shall find a good opponent in Kaijou, such matters were not the reason behind my unexpected invitation.”

 

“Ahh… Are you perhaps referring to that matter of humans being able to use magic?” asked Kise, placing his index finger on his chin and tilting his head to the left.

 

“Indeed,” acknowledged Akashi, offering a small nod of his head.

 

“Are you sure about it, Akashicchi?” asked Kise once again, a small thinking frown showing on his face as he tried to figure out how such ridiculousness could have happened in their world. “Humans have always been unable to use magic or dominate magical beasts into aiding them. Didn’t you perhaps misunderstand something there?”

 

“I had a small portion of my army sent to a deeper hole than the Hell they inhabit. Where could have my mistake have come from when I even witnessed said deed with my own eyes?” pointed out Akashi, his gaze tightening into a glare. “I took measures personally, however, and have ascertained some answers to solve such mysterious enigma.”

 

“Ohh~?” interjected Kise, his golden eyes twinkling with curiosity.

 

“The answer lies behind that door,” said Akashi, gesturing towards a nearby wall. The stone suddenly was replaced by a wooden door. He took a few steps forward and placed his hand on the doorknob, glancing over his shoulder at the blonde. “However, Ryouta… What you’ll see inside might change your views on my plans for the future of Teikou.”

 

“Eh…?” Slightly lost on that last remark, Kise also stepped forward and entered inside of the unknown room right behind Akashi. An extremely large room, with an extremely high ceiling, only illuminated by chandeliers - other than that, it’s most prominent feature was the regal dosel bed in the middle of the otherwise empty chamber.

 

Kise continued following after Akashi as he approached the bed, a weird sensation starting to tickle at his spine. What were those red curtains hiding?

 

“Do not go overboard,” warned Akashi, pulling the red curtain open with a single movement of his hand. With it, the bluenette slumbering in the soft mattress came into view.

 

“Ah… -... ---...?” gasped Kise, his golden eyes widening in shock and throat growing so very dry. He took a hesitant step forward, one of his hands stretched in front of his body. “No… way… He was…”

 

“--- is back, Ryouta,” announced Akashi, his heterochromatic eyes falling from the sleeping bluenette to the stone floor.

 

“He can’t…! I… I…!” mumbled Kise, his eyes filling with tears that quickly overflowed and started raining down his cheeks. He darted in the bed’s direction and stopped right beside the motionless bluenette, his hands hovering over him without knowing what to do or where to touch. He bitterly bit down on his lower lip and dropped his body over the bluenette’s, tightly hugging his soft body. Oh, how much had Kise missed hugging that kind and gentle being… “Ugh… I’m sorry, ---! I… Ngh… I’m so sorry! I’m s-sorry! ---, I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Uhhh… I’m s-sorry…”

 

Akashi rotated his body slightly and turned his back on the bed - he didn’t need to listen to all of the weeping and apologetical sobs. He didn't  _ want _ to hear them.

 

_ If I’m the ‘father’... wouldn’t that make --- the ‘mother’? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mafy's Info:  
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> [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/mafy) \- Mafy's Patreon is now available, with early access to all releases in Ao3! Even the smallest of helps are appreciated, or I won't be able to keep on writing like I am right now.  
> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4) \- If you just want to give a one-time help, this is the one to go for!


	34. Strength III

“Geez… To fall this deeply asleep after bawling his eyes out…” sighed Kasamatsu Yukio, a deep frown on his features as he slowly shook his head in disapproval. He stood before the dosel bed, his arms crossed over his iron-plated chest as he looked down at the elf king - Kise’s face was a total mess, his closed eyes red and puffy from all of the cry, as he kept his body weirdly glued to the sleeping bluenette. “He may be nearing 1,000 years of age, but he’s still nothing more than a newborn baby in the inside. Makes me feel like fucking kicking him black and blue…”

 

“With his age, Ryouta  _ is _ a child, be it for elves’ or demons’ standards,” pointed out Akashi, standing by the open door as he waited for Kasamatsu, the caretaker and personal guard of the elf king, to finish certifying himself no accidental death had befallen on Kise. “Demons do not count the passage of time, however, so any being is a fledgeling when in our presence.”

 

“It’s not that we’re children, you just look down on anything that’s not the same as you,” said Kasamatsu, his gaze moving from Kise to the sleeping bluenette. He sighed, his frown softening a little bit. “I can feel nothing but pity for him…”

 

“Five centuries later and the blood of The Unspoken still weights down on your shoulders, Yukio?” asked Akashi, turning his body slightly sideways when Kasamatsu turned around on his heels and started walking towards the door.

 

“I have always wondered how it never weighted on yours,” scoffed Kasamatsu, passing by the demon king without sparing him a single glance. “Demons truly are something else. No matter what they destroy, it never fazes them, it never births the emotion of ‘guilt’ in their chests. Feeling hollow all the time must be quite boring, is that why it pleases you so much to bring about conflict and war everywhere you go?”

 

“You forsooth never miss the chance to chastise me,” chuckled Akashi, more amused than offended or angered by those accusatory words. “You were never in agreement with The Unspoken’s fate. I do not comprehend why you aided us in it.”

 

“Because elves have the ability to feel guilt and sharing it was the only way to keep My King alive,” confessed Kasamatsu, halting his walking for brief seconds as Akashi closed and hid the wooden door on the shape-shifting wall. They then resumed with their small travel back to a small saloon, where Kasamatsu would be allowed to wait until Kise got back on his feet - in an emotional sense rather than simply waking up after a long needless nap, in the personal guard’s most honest opinion. Once he and Akashi settled themselves in luxuriant sofás, he ended up adding in an unconscious blurt, “Not that I cannot understand your side.”

 

“Do you, now?” snorted Akashi, picking up a teacup from the round centre table in the middle of the sofás - the empty intricate porcelain cup was suddenly filled with piping hot, freshly brewed tea. “I would have never pegged you as a being so wise that you would be able to envisage what my mind devises.”

 

“And I’m not,” said Kasamatsu with a quick shrug of his shoulders. He dropped his body on the backrest of the sofá and leisurely settled himself in a comfortable sitting position. “But demons and gods are the opposite of one another, even though, deep down, they’re the same. If gods are around, soon demons wanting to tempt their believers will appear. If demons are around, a god will be needed to rescue those poor souls from being dragged down into their hellish residence. Quite funny that such a rule is applied to every world.”

 

“So you blame The Purge on the natural enmity between the holy and the corrupt,” remarked Akashi, taking a small sip to his tea. He gave the idea a quick thought, even if he was the one who understood that bloodied event better than any being. “It might be true, for some part. Even now, I still despise ---.”

 

“Hate, huh…” sighed Kasamatsu, closely observing the tranquil demeanour on the demon king’s face. “Is that why you keep him closed in that room with a sleeping spell? You should just end his misery once and for all, Akashi, instead of toying with him with your mind games.”

 

“...”

 

“Pitiful, pitiful creature,” continued Kasamatsu, his steel-blue eyes lowering to the table’s surface as he inwardly succumbed to sadness and guilt. “Losing his own and then losing himself at the hands of those he loved the most. Demons, elves, every creature, even his own creations, the humans… All of us betrayed him. I wonder which part of your plan hurt him the most. Was it the fall of humanity, of his children? Was it seeing his brothers and sisters being slaughtered by us? Or was it the realisation of why such a plan came into fruition in the depths of your mind, Akashi?”

 

“Are you striving to scrutinize whether a demon feels or not, Yukio?” asked back Akashi, even though he knew those questions were only rhetorical. A small frown lightly creased his brows.

 

“I’ve come to understand that talking about and sharing my guilt alleviates it, even if momentarily,” said Kasamatsu, a knowing smirk on his features. “Tell me, oh great Demon King of Rakuzan. Do you not talk to --- because you feel no need, feel no guilt? Or does the thought of it alone overwhelms you with excruciating pain? How did it feel to spend five centuries agonising over sleepless nights, daytime nightmares and what-if scenarios? Was erasing --- from this world worth it? Did you get what you sought? I think not, or you wouldn’t want the world to change yet agai-”

 

Out of the blue, Akashi got up from the sofá, a soul-breaking glare on his heterochromatic eyes. “ _ You owe your life to Ryouta’s grief. But only this one time. Never again. _ ”

 

Akashi turned around on his heels and stomped his way to the door. ‘You’re just as pitiful as he is’ were the last words the demon king heard before he slammed the door shut after abandoning the small saloon. Running away would have more accurately described his actions but his pride had already been more than wounded in a single day.

 

_ One after another… Who do they bethink themselves to be to dare say a single word about my person!?, _ inwardly roared Akashi, his angry footsteps echoing through the empty, silent corridor.  _ I am a demon, do they feel the need to remind me of it all of my waking hours? Do they bethink I am not aware of my nature? Why should I justify or excuse my conduct only to satisfy their expectations? _

 

“Ryouta, leave!!” commanded Akashi as he slammed the shape-shifting door open and stepped inside of the candle-lit room.

 

“Fweeh…?” mumbled Kise with a rough, sleepy voice. He sluggishly rolled his body on the mattress of the bed, one of his hands lightly rubbing his sore and puffy golden eyes. However, the first thing his tired eyes could catch was a hand motioning in his direction and grab him by the collar of his clothes. Soon enough he found himself thrown to the floor. “Uwaaah…!”

 

“ _ I said leave!” _ ordered Akashi one more time, his heterochromatic eyes glowing amid their rage.

 

“W-What got you in such a bad mood all of a sudden…?” asked Kise, slowly picking himself up from the floor while massaging his throbbing backside. When he looked at the demon king, however, he couldn’t help but loudly shriek at the sight. “Hiiiii! O-O-Okay, I’m l-leaving…!”

 

Kise immediately started running in the half-open door’s direction, nearly tripping once or twice due to the hurry and fright put on his motions.

 

“The reason why humans have acquired the usage of magic... The newly founded Kingdom of Seirin has been exploiting ---’s godly attributes for their own selfish benefit,” announced Akashi when the elf king stepped outside of the room. As soon as those words were pronounced, the wooden door closed on its own and disappeared - from outside and inside of the candlelit room.

 

Slowly, Akashi turned his body to face the dosel bed. He ripped the red curtains out of the way and climbed the mattress, sitting next to the sleeping bluenette.

 

“Emotionless demon I am, emotionless demon I shall be,” whispered Akashi, his open hand hovering above the bluenette’s face for brief seconds. Once he moved it away, the bluenette startled awake.

 

“Furihata-kun…!” yelped Kuroko, his body sitting on the bed as quickly as a shot arrow.

 

“Not ‘Furihata-kun’, it is Akashi Seijuurou,” corrected Akashi, grabbing the bluenette’s wrists and making his presence more than announced by pulling him closer to him. “It is now time to keep my promise, ---. If you do not wish for yet another era ruled by blood and iron, then Kuroko, the fake human, is to die.”

 

“...!”

 

“With such said, will you kindly kill Kuroko yourself? Or shall the Demon King slaughter yet another of your personas?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akashi truly is having a rough week... Me has the feeling Kuroko will only make it worse -.-'
> 
> Mafy's Info:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Mafy_mod)  
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> [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/mafy) \- Mafy's Patreon is now available, with early access to all releases in Ao3! Even the smallest of helps are appreciated, or I won't be able to keep on writing like I am right now.  
> [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/I2I49KM4) \- If you just want to give a one-time help, this is the one to go for!


	35. Strength IV

“Three moons,” said Akashi, his eyes flickering by a small table, the plates filled with food left untouched on top of it. He then switched his gaze back to the bluenette curled up on the dosel bed, his back turned in his direction. “Three moons have gone by and yet you still refuse to eat. Do you aim to kill that fake being by starving it to death?”

 

“...”

 

“Ah, yes. Enunciating yourself is yet another activity you have deprived yourself of,” scoffed Akashi, feeling a laugh getting chocked in his throat. Not a happy laugh, though. “Humans detest when they are handled as if children but they sure do enjoy behaving like on. Speak or remain silent, eat what is given or fast for as long as it pleases you. Whatever you do, it is hopeless. Gods do not require food or water to live.”

 

“I am not-” yelled Kuroko, abruptly turning his body to face the demon. A furious glare clouded his teal eyes. He stopped his words, however, softly clicking his tongue and returning his body to the same position as before afterwards.

 

“‘I am not a god, I am just a human’,” said Akashi, repeating the same words he had previously heard. He began to leisurely walk closer to the sulking bluenette. “You made sure to parrot those words again and again after you woke up, yes. However, the facts are as they are. Humans cannot use magic. You can use magic. As such, you are not human. That is one of the laws of this world.”

 

“...”

 

“What sort of poisonous words did the humans in Seirin feed you with?” asked Akashi, sitting down on the bed’s mattress, his back turned to the bluenette’s back. “We do not know your past, but you are a human able to use magic. Are you the offspring of one of the other beings with a human? Was it that what they deceivingly told you? Was that the scheme they deployed to exploit your affinity with magic and have you use it for them? It is a matter of the past, however. Or it will become a matter of the past once you eradicate the fake you and are reborn as what you previously were.”

 

“Your words are the only nefarious poison I have encountered throughout my life,” said Kuroko, his voice a cold, sharp blade as those words broke free. “Have they lied to me? Yes, they have. However, their black shades were warm, caring, even beloved in my eyes. The black in your words is deceiving, hurtful and ill-intended. Their lies have saved me time and time again, while your lies only wound.”

 

“I am a demon, there would never be any good in my vocable,” chuckled Akashi. “So I see you have enjoyed and relished in their lies. Did they share the sentiment, though?”

 

“I have never lied to them,” nearly hissed Kuroko, looking over his shoulder to peek at the demon king behind him. “Not even once.”

 

“Have you now?” said Akashi, once again chuckling at the bluenette’s words. “From one lie sprouted countless others. The birth of that lie was you. They carefully looked after and fed its growth. What they reaped from that laborious mental game… Did they enjoy it? Did they savour their lies as much as you?”

 

“...!”

 

“A god or otherwise, you would dub as an exquisite tempting demon,” laughed Akashi, getting up from the bed and turning his body to fully face the bluenette. “Forcing others to bend at my will and desire. Is that not what I do? Is that not what you do? The difference lies in whether those view it as good or evil. You find their lies a saviour, I find them slavery. They themselves might have seen your salvation as a curse. Your lies, Kuroko, only wound.”

 

“...”

 

“Between a hurtful truth and a hurtful lie, it is abstruse what is the correct,” said Akashi, the small smirk on his lips diminishing as he observed the obvious pain in the bluenette’s features. “However, there are times when it is easier to wound ourselves than to continue with the strenuous task of poisoning those around our persons. Do think well about all of it, fake human. Do think well about their lies, your lies and my lies, for some are the same and only one is truly decaying everything it touches."

 

“I cannot trust anything you may say,” confessed Kuroko, adjusting his sitting position to more easily glare at the demon king.

 

“What you no longer trust is your ability to differentiate between black and white,” pointed out Akashi, turning around on his heels and moving towards the shape-shifting wall. “Let me aid you in your musings, fake human. The elf king of Kaijou has set off to the Kingdom of Seirin, fully aware of your true identity and their nefarious misuses of your magical prowess. The reason behind his charge is quite obvious, if I do say so myself. Was this a lie or the truth?”

 

“No!” yelped Kuroko, his face growing pale and sickly at the realization of the truth behind those words. He immediately jumped out of the bed and walked around the dosel bed, running towards Akashi and the door that was slowly being conjured on the shape-shifting wall. “Wait, Aka-”

 

“I see no need to listen to the words of a fake human,” said Akashi, a blatant evil smirk on his lips as he stepped outside of the hidden room and the door began closing behind himself. “A god’s words would be a different story, however. Stay there and repent over the mayhem your lies and the deceit of your beloved humans have caused. If you ever have a change of mind, I believe your skills will easily break you free from your comfortable prison cell, ---. This world is built according to your whims and desires, after all.”

 

“Ouch!!” Despite the closing door, Kuroko continued charging in Akashi’s direction, which only resulted in a painful crash against a cold stone wall. He readily got back up on his feet and began banging his fist against the wall. “Please let me out of here! They won’t be able to…! Please!! Please, they won’t… Seirin is… They’re not at fault here…”

  
_ Never did they do any wrong… I did…, _ whispered Kuroko in the back of his head, his fists sliding down against the cold wall as his legs gave in and he slumped down on the floor. His teal eyes were watery, small droplets of contained frustration and sadness welling up in their corners.  _ Why does it always…! Always… Always? Always, what…? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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